Federal health advisers say Merck’s vaccine Gardasil, which already is used to prevent cervical cancer in women, should also be approved to stop genital warts in men. A Food and Drug Administration panel voted unanimously with one abstention that the vaccine is effective for blocking the human papilloma virus, or HPV, in males ages 9 to 26. The panel voted 7-1 that the vaccine is safe for those patients. The FDA is not required to follow the group’s guidance, though it usually does.

More information at www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/09/09/us/politics/AP-US-Merck-Vaccine-FDA-Panel.html.