A vaccine against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Gardasil, which till now was recommended and advised to be used by females has received a green signal for males as well, revealed the vaccine manufacturer Merck on Tuesday.

This vaccine is used for treatment to prevent genital warts in males aged 9 to 26 by Canada Health due to by HVP Types 6, 11, 16, and 18 genital disorders caused by HPV types six and 11 mostly transmitted sexually. It was reported by CBC that Gardasil's approval was getting delayed because of the oppositions posed by some males during the testing.

This vaccine was initially recommended in 2006, by Health Canada in order to prevent cervical cancer and genital wart in females aged nine to 26 and it was said that this vaccine if given to a female before sexual activeness, it works best. In 2007, a funding of $300 million was announced for its promotion and currently all school-based programs are being used to promote use of the vaccine. Following the announcement, this vaccine program is expected to be extended to the boys in the schools of the province.

It has been estimated that almost 40,000 cases of genital warts are detected in Canada annually and about 70% of sexually active men and women possibly have at least one HPV infection in their lifetime.