One in three men over the age of 15 is a carrier of at least one type of genital human papillomavirus (HPV), according to data from a large-scale meta-study by an international team of scientists and published in the September issue of the British medical journal “The Lancet Global Health”, according to Rador.
The team members, led by Dr. Laia Bruni from the Oncological Institute of Catalonia, brought together data from 65 studies conducted between 1995 and 2022 to create an epidemiological picture of HPV prevalence in men around the world. As it turned out, 31% of men are carriers of the virus, and 21% are infected with one or more of the most dangerous HPV serotypes, which cause various types of cancer.
In North America and Tropical Africa, these percentages were highest (on average 45% and 37% of HPV carriers, respectively), and lowest in East and Southeast Asia (15% among HPV carriers).
Risk of cancer even decades after contacting the virus
“This global study on the prevalence of genital papillomavirus infection in men confirms the massive size of this problem. Infection with high-risk (carcinogenic) HPV can cause genital warts, oral, penile and anal cancer in men,” said Meg Doherty, who leads the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Program to Combat HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
“We must continue to look for ways to prevent human papillomavirus infection and reduce the incidence of HPV-related disease in both men and women.”
The WHO points out that most infected people do not show any symptoms, but in the long term, the infection can lead to dangerous diseases and conditions. In women, human papillomavirus infection, caused by some HPV serotypes, causes cervical cancer, which usually does not appear until decades after infection. More than 340,000 women die each year from HPV-related cervical cancer. Other serotypes of the virus can cause the formation of anogenital condylomas (warts).
WHO recommends widespread introduction of HPV vaccines to prevent cancers caused by the virus, especially cervical cancer. First, the organization recommends vaccinating girls aged 9-14, with the second most important target group being young women and older women, as well as men.
2023-09-07 16:32:51
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