A new study out of Tampa, Florida finds that 50-percent of adult men in the United States and elsewhere may be infected with the sexually transmitted disease HPV.

The study is now providing valuable information to researchers about just how prevalent this disease is in men.

Not all men who are infected with HPV get cancer and many will never even show signs of the disease. But it's still a wake up call to researchers prompting the question -- should doctors recommend the HPV vaccine to men?

The study followed more than 1,100 men of all ages. It found men with multiple partners, especially those with male partners, were more likely to have HPV. They also found that every year, six-percent of men are newly infected with the virus that can cause different forms of cancer.

Dr. William Bonnez was part of the team of doctors at Strong Hospital who helped in the development of Gardasil -- the HPV vaccine given to girls age nine through 26. He says the vaccine has always been available for men and boys to get but more research is needed to determine whether an all out recommendation is necessary.

Dr. William Bonnez said, “The big question is cost. This is really what the barrier is in terms of vaccinating males. Now it's the FDA has approved the vaccine to be given to males, so there's really no barrier technically to using the vaccine in males, but as to make it as a general recommendation, that's not been the case so far, again because of cost.”

The study gave researchers much needed information about how HPV is transmitted in men, how many men are infected and how long those infections last.

It costs at least $300 for the three dose vaccine. Considering most men who are infected never even shows signs of the infection, the cost may make most think twice.

There has also been debate about the vaccine being safe. News 10NBC spoke with Dr. David Topa from Pittsford Pediatrics who said the vaccine is very safe and he will definitely give it to his daughters. And as more diseases are prevented through vaccination, the more likely it is that doctors will recommend the vaccine for males as well as females.

For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.

What might help is proper hygiene; circumcision for one and using the bathroom etiquette, hopefully taught to you by the first female in your life, your mom. I often wonder how men developed their superiority complex, having lived with them I know for a fact that were it not for women microscopic bacteria would be on the top rung of our evolutionary ladder.