UN promotes circumcision to reduce HIV risk for males
UN promotes circumcision to reduce HIV risk for males
By Alexander G. Higgins
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press
Published March 29, 2007
GENEVA -- Heterosexual men should be circumcised because of compelling evidence it reduces their chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent, UN health agencies said Wednesday.
But men should still use condoms and other protection against the virus, said the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, the UN agency that coordinates the global fight against the AIDS virus.
"We must be clear," said Catherine Hankins of UNAIDS. "Male circumcision does not provide complete protection against HIV."
Men and women also should consider abstinence, delaying the start of sexual activity and reducing the number of sexual partners, she said. Otherwise, they could develop a false sense of security and engage in high-risk behavior that could undermine the protection provided by male circumcision, the agencies said.
Men also should be warned that they are at a higher risk of being infected with HIV if they resume sex before their circumcision wound has healed, which can take six weeks. Likewise, an HIV-positive man can more easily pass the disease to his partner if the wound hasn't healed.
More study is needed to determine whether male circumcision will reduce the transmission of HIV to women or in homosexual intercourse, the statement said.
"It probably does, but we don't have sufficient research now to confirm that," said Dr. Teguest Guerma of WHO.
The recommendations were based on a conference in which experts discussed three trials -- in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa -- that produced strong evidence of lessened risk because of heterosexual male circumcision.
WHO experts said the trials convinced them after 20 years of observations that circumcision reduces men's susceptibility to HIV infection partly because the cells in the foreskin of the penis are especially vulnerable to the virus.
The public health impact is likely to be most rapid where there is a high rate of HIV infection among men having sex with women.
Studies suggest male circumcision could prevent 5.7 million new cases of HIV infection and 3 million deaths over 20 years in sub-Saharan Africa, they said.
By Alexander G. Higgins
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press
Published March 29, 2007
GENEVA -- Heterosexual men should be circumcised because of compelling evidence it reduces their chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent, UN health agencies said Wednesday.
But men should still use condoms and other protection against the virus, said the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, the UN agency that coordinates the global fight against the AIDS virus.
"We must be clear," said Catherine Hankins of UNAIDS. "Male circumcision does not provide complete protection against HIV."
Men and women also should consider abstinence, delaying the start of sexual activity and reducing the number of sexual partners, she said. Otherwise, they could develop a false sense of security and engage in high-risk behavior that could undermine the protection provided by male circumcision, the agencies said.
Men also should be warned that they are at a higher risk of being infected with HIV if they resume sex before their circumcision wound has healed, which can take six weeks. Likewise, an HIV-positive man can more easily pass the disease to his partner if the wound hasn't healed.
More study is needed to determine whether male circumcision will reduce the transmission of HIV to women or in homosexual intercourse, the statement said.
"It probably does, but we don't have sufficient research now to confirm that," said Dr. Teguest Guerma of WHO.
The recommendations were based on a conference in which experts discussed three trials -- in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa -- that produced strong evidence of lessened risk because of heterosexual male circumcision.
WHO experts said the trials convinced them after 20 years of observations that circumcision reduces men's susceptibility to HIV infection partly because the cells in the foreskin of the penis are especially vulnerable to the virus.
The public health impact is likely to be most rapid where there is a high rate of HIV infection among men having sex with women.
Studies suggest male circumcision could prevent 5.7 million new cases of HIV infection and 3 million deaths over 20 years in sub-Saharan Africa, they said.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 7:50 AM
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