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Weekly News Roundup
December 7, 2015
Dennis J. Barbour, JD, Editor
EDITORIAL: Adolescent health: boys matter too

To achieve adolescent health and wellbeing as a basis for sustainable development, economic prosperity, and stable peaceful societies, we need to also focus on adolescent boys for two main reasons.
The Lancet, December 5, 2015
Vaccine breakthrough targets bacterial meningitis
Winter break a good time to get college students - an at-risk group - protected

What do Princeton University, University of Oregon, University of California and Providence College all have in common? Outbreaks of Men B have occurred at these schools in the last three years. Historically, there have been meningitis outbreaks at about two or three universities or colleges per year.  After the death of an 18-year-old student in February, the University of Oregon  launched a massive campaign  to vaccinate its entire population of 22,000 students. The vaccination campaign appears to have been successful, as there have been no further students who have contracted the disease. 
Lancaster Online, December 6, 2015
IRELAND: Give boys HPV vaccine, says health chief

The assistant director of Ireland's health protection programme has said that teenage boys should also be given the HPV vaccine to protect them from certain cancers.
The Irish Times, December 4, 2015
Men's mental health programs on college campuses

"This allows them to connect with other men students who are dealing with similar struggles.  We also run several drop-in workshops every day of the week with titles such as beating depression, beating anxiety," said Dr. Micky Sharma, President,Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors. And more and more schools are organizing events like "Recess Day of Play," offering board breaking, dog therapy and more. "It's harder for them to come and express their feelings, so an event like this gives them another way to have fun and to relax and to connect with the counseling center," said psychiatrist Dr. Denise Deschenes.
News 4, December 4, 2015
HPV Vaccine is Recommended for Boys

If you haven't already vaccinated your preteens and teens, it's not too late. Ask your child's doctor at their next appointment about getting HPV vaccine. The series is three shots over six months' time. Take advantage of any visit to the doctor-such as an annual health checkup or physicals for sports, camp, or college-to ask the doctor about what shots your preteens and teens need.
Infection Control Today, December 4, 2015
Immunogenicity of HPV Vaccination With 1 to 3 Doses Assessed

At 7-months follow-up, immune response was similar in the 2-dose HPV group and the 3-dose group (median fluorescence intensity ratio for HPV 16 1.12 [95% CI, 1.02 - 1.23] and for HPV 18 1.04 [95% CI, 0.92 - 1.19]). However, the 2-dose group was inferior to the 3-dose group at 18  months follow-up. The authors concluded that the short-term benefits of 1 dose of HPV vaccine is similar to the benefits provided by 2 or 3 doses of vaccine and that further study should be performed.
Cancer Therapy Advisor, December 3, 2015
HPV vaccine for boys coming to Quebec
Vaccination program will be offered to boys in Grade 4 starting in September

Quebec is expanding its human papillomavirus vaccination program to include young men and boys.Starting in January, any man under the age of 26 who has sexual relationships with other men can obtain the HPV vaccine for free from the government.Then, starting in September, boys in Grade 4 will start receiving the vaccine.
CBC, December 3, 2015
Experts: Promotion of HPV vaccination must focus on cancer prevention

One reason for low uptake among boys is because the vaccine was first only licensed and recommended for use in girls. The vaccine became known as the cervical cancer vaccine, which is limited in scope. HPV vaccination among boys is really just getting going because the vaccine is relatively newer for boys, according toMark H. Einstein, MD, MS, professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and women's health and the department of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine."Quite frankly, most of the disease still rests in women, particularly the cervical part of the disease," Einstein toldHemOnc Today. "The trend in the delayed approval in boys was because the FDA wanted to see a trial showing that the vaccine works well in boys, which has been provided and the data suggest the vaccine works extremely well in boys, in fact, similarly as well as it works in girls. I think this delay has now started to sift down to the education of pediatricians and adolescent gynecologists who are now doing more vaccinations for boys."
Helio, December 2, 2015
575,000 Chinese Have AIDS Including Young Male Elites

Around 575,000 people in China have been infected with AIDS as of October this year, and health experts are raising alarm over the unprecedented rise of new HIV cases among young men, mostly high school and college students.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) said that before 2009, HIV/AIDS cases were highly brought on by intravenous drug use, blood transfusions, mother-to-child transmission and other factors.
But now, sexual transmission accounts for 92 percent of all new infections.
China Topix, December 1, 2015
CDC Aims To Increase Number Of Tweens Receiving HPV Vaccine

"Talking about the vaccine has made physicians and parents uncomfortable, because HPV is transmitted by sexual contact," Wharton says, "but, you know, we don't get into big discussions about droplet transmission before we give the meningococcal congregate vaccine."
CBS, November 30, 2015
Dating apps driving a "hidden epidemic" of HIV infections among young Asian males, says UN

In the new report released on the eve of World Aids Day on Tuesday, the experts estimated that 50,000 (or 15 per cent) of the new 340,000 HIV infections in the region involved young males in their late teens. They said that a series of factors contributed to the increase in casual unsafe sex among adolescents in the region. "The explosion of smart phone  gay dating apps  has expanded the options for casual spontaneous sex as never before," said the authors of Adolescents: Under the Radar in the Asia-Pacific Aids Response
The Telegraph, November 30, 2015

A study conducted by  Glotech, a domestic appliance retailer, found that more than 25 percent of men will wear a pair of underpants more than once before they feel the need to wash them. About 8 percent of them admitted to wearing their boxers or briefs three times before chucking it into the washing machine. Some people even admitted to wearing a pair for more than five days without washing.
University Herald, November 30, 2015
More Could Benefit from HIV Prevention Pill Truvada
Medication can prevent infection with the virus in people at high risk

Too few Americans who are at risk for HIV infection are taking Truvada -- a daily pill that could protect them against the virus that causes AIDS, federal health officials report. Health care providers must help boost patient awareness and use of the drug, health experts stressed. About 25 percent of sexually active gay and bisexual adult men, 20 percent of injection drug users, and less than 1 percent of sexually active heterosexuals are at high risk for HIV infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's  Vital Signs   report. People in these groups need to know about Truvada, which is also known as the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pill, the government experts said.
Health Day, November 24, 2015
The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday. 
For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at dbarbour@partnershipformaleyouth.org.

Get the Partnership's AYA Male Health Toolkit app!

The  Partnership for Male Youth is a collaboration among 23 national organizations and representation from six federal agencies. It is led by a multidisciplinary and multispecialty steering committee and advisory council. The Partnerships's flagship effort, released in January 2014, is  The Health Provider Toolkit for Adolescent and Young Adult Males.
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