MSD Korea said Monday that its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil has been approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration for use on men and boys aged between nine and 26 against genital warts.

The agency has approved Gardasil against HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 for women and men aged between nine and 15. The expansion of the target age group makes Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine available to both men and women, more accessible to a wider range of people, the vaccine maker said.

According to MSD, genital warts are usually flesh-colored growths that can be raised or flat, small or large, and alone or in clusters. For women, warts can grow inside the vagina or the cervix, making them hard to see. In men, they can appear on the surface of the penis or groin.

Treatment for genital warts can be a painful process and involve cutting, freezing or burning the growths. Even after treatment, genital warts will most likely come back. In fact, 25 percent of cases have a reoccurrence within three months. Gardasil reportedly reduces the prevalence of warts caused by HPV infection by 90.4 percent, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

(baejisook@heraldcorp.com)