Health Canada has approved Gardasil for use in in males aged nine to 26. (Harry Cabluck/Associated Press)

Gardasil, a vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV), has been approved as a treatment to prevent genital warts in males aged nine to 26 in Canada, the vaccine's manufacturer said Tuesday.

Health Canada approved Gardasil to prevent infection caused by human papilloma virus Types six, 11, 16, and 18 and genital warts caused by HPV types six and 11.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in Canada, said Merck, the vaccine's manufacturer.

In 2006, Health Canada approved Gardasil to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts in females aged nine to 26. All provinces and territories now offer school-based programs using Gardasil, which works best if given to females before they become sexually active.

Two weeks ago, GlaxoSmithKline announced that Health Canada has approved its HPV vaccine, Cervarix, in girls and women. Cervarix protects against three other cancer-causing strains, HPV 31, 33 and 45.

In most people who develop genital warts, the infection clears up on its own. For some women, the infection persists and can lead to cervical cancer.

A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that Gardasil in females has a safety record on par with other vaccines.

In January, researchers in Montreal published a study in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases showing 56 per cent of young people in a new sexual relationship were infected with at least one type of HPV.

The federal government announced in its March 2007 budget that $300 million over three years will be available to the provinces and territories in support of a national HPV vaccination program for girls and women.

It is up to provinces and territories to recommend vaccines for use within their jurisdiction. Doctors may also prescribe any approved vaccine.

An estimated 40,000 new cases of ano-genital warts are diagnosed each year in Canadian men and women.