Impact of a Gender-Neutral HPV Vaccination Program in Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)

Abstract

[EN] A major challenge in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine programs is the universal gender-neutral recommendation, as well as estimation of its long-term effect. The objective of this study is to predict the added benefit of male vaccination, especially in men who have sex with men (MSM), and to analyze the impact of the program on society. We propose a mathematical model of the HPV infection based on a network paradigm. Data from Spain allowed constructing the sexual network. HPV force of infection was taken from literature. Different scenarios using variable vaccine coverage in both males and females were studied. Strong herd immunity is shown in the heterosexual population, with an important decrease of HPV 6/11 infections both in men and in unvaccinated women with an only-women vaccination at 14 years of age. No impact of this program occurred in the infection incidence in MSM. This group would only benefit from a vaccination program that includes males. However, the impact at short term would be lower than in heterosexual men. The protection of MSM can only be achieved by direct vaccination of males. This may have important consequences for public health. ; This paper has been supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER UE) grant MTM2017-89664-P. This paper has been supported by the European Union through the Operational Program of the [European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)/European Social Fund (ESF)] of the Valencian Community 2014¿2020. Files: GJIDI/2018/A/010 and GJIDI/2018/A/009 ; Diez-Domingo, J.; Sánchez-Alonso, V.; Villanueva Micó, RJ.; Acedo, L.; Tuells, J. (2021). Impact of a Gender-Neutral HPV Vaccination Program in Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM). International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health (Online). 18(3):1-11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030963 ; S ; 1 ; 11 ; 18 ; 3