Boys in Australia are to be offered a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV can cause cervical cancer, and the vaccine is already widely available to young girls, but boys can also carry and spread the virus.

Beginning next year, the Gardasil HPV vaccine, which was developed in Australia, will be funded for 12- and 13-year-old boys as part of the country’s National Immunisation Program, the ministry of health announced today. Women and girls in Australia began receiving vaccinations in 2007, and a significant drop in cervical cancer was seen shortly afterwards (J. M. Brotherton, et al. Lancet 377, 2085–2092; 2011).

“Already the HPV vaccine has had an impact,” said Tanya Plibersek, Australia’s minister for health, in a statement today. “It is estimated that a quarter of new infections will be avoided by extending the vaccine to boys.”

Many doctors have argued that routinely vaccinating boys will boost ‘herd immunity’ and help to protect unvaccinated females. The introduction of HPV vaccination was initially controversial, because some believed it might encourage promiscuity by removing some of the risks of sexual intercourse. This does not seem to have happened so far.

“The addition of the HPV vaccine for young males on the National Immunisation Program is good news for the young men of Australia,” Ian Frazer, director of research at the Translational Research Institute in Queensland and the man behind the HPV vaccine, said in a statement. “I am pleased to see Australia is leading the way with this important public health measure.”

The programme represents another major step forward for advocates of the vaccine. Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics changed its guidance to recommend HPV vaccinations for boys, following a similar recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control. Similar moves have also occurred in Canada.