Circumcision Shown to Slow Spread of HIV in Africa

[ElPunto]

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 13 -- Two major studies released Wednesday confirmed that circumcision can dramatically slow the spread of HIV among African men, suggesting that widely offering the procedure could prevent millions of deaths in countries most seriously affected by AIDS, researchers said.

 

The studies, in Kenya and Uganda, found that circumcised men are about 50 percent less likely to contract HIV than those who are not, a result that echoed similar research last year from South Africa. In all three studies, the results were so persuasive that researchers stopped their experiments several months early and offered circumcisions to all of the subjects, deeming it unethical to withhold a procedure that might prevent an often-fatal disease.

 

The results appeared to dispel lingering doubt that circumcision protects men from AIDS. But it only sharpened questions about whether it is possible to offer the procedure widely enough to slow an epidemic that kills millions of people each year, mostly poor Africans with scant access to safe, modern medical facilities.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121301155.html

 

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It is funny that there is debate about the ability to offer it to poor Africans when the equally poor Africans in Somalia etc are able to do it. :confused:

[Naden]

This is good news. Any public health measure that helps will eventually curb the spread of the virus. It will be interesting to see how agencies promote the practice among groups unfamiliar with it.

[Cara.]

ThePoint,

 

Yeah, seems kinda strange. Maybe it's one thing to perform a procedure on your pre-pubescent son as a cultural ritual/religious obligation and another thing to circumscise grown men as a medical procedure. Especially if the men are not familiar with the ritual, and they will have to be "out of commission" for a while, so to speak. Just raising awareness and opening clinics and training health workers will be a challenge. But hopefully one African nations can rise to.

[ElPunto]

^You're right. It's about the circumcision of adult men - how painful. Can't imagine the logistics of doing that. but at least they should start blanket circumcision of new born males.