Sexual behaviour in Ligurian (Northern Italy) adolescents and young people: suggestions for HPV vaccination policies.

Human papillomavirus is a common sexually transmitted virus, and persistent infection with high-risk types is the necessary factor for cervical cancer. We investigated sexual behaviour and the age of the first sexual intercourse among young people (14-24 years) in Liguria (Northern Italy) in order to provide information that might orient the country's future vaccination policy. The Italian Authorities offer free vaccination to 12-year-old females, however a better prevention of HPV would to be implemented by introducing the vaccine to new cohorts of females after the first year of the vaccination campaign.