another way to cut HIV risk

Circumcision can reduce the risk of HIV infection in heterosexual men by 53 per cent, a US study has discovered.
And because the findings were so significant, the US National Institutes of Health halted the trial a year early and offered the procedure to all study participants.
The study, by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago, supports a previous South African trial which produced similar results.

Lead researcher Robert Bailey said: "Circumcision is now a proven, effective prevention strategy to reduce HIV infections in men."
The Chicago study enrolled 2,784 HIV negative, uncircumcised men aged between 18 and 24 in Kisumu, Kenya.
Half the men were randomly assigned to circumcision, while half remained uncircumcised.
Study participants received free HIV testing and counseling, medical care, tests and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, condoms and behavioral risk counseling for 24 months.
The research showed that 22 of the 1,393 circumcised men contracted HIV, compared to 47 of the 1,391 uncircumcised men.

In other words, circumcised men had 53 per cent fewer HIV infections than uncircumcised men.
"With these findings, the evidence is now available for donor and normative agencies, like WHO and UNAIDS, to actively promote circumcision in a safe context and along with other HIV prevention strategies," Bailey said.
"Circumcision cannot be a stand-alone intervention. It has to be integrated with all the other things that we do to prevent new HIV infections, such as treating sexual transmitted diseases and providing condoms and behavioral counseling.
"We can't expect to just cut off a foreskin and have the guy go on his merry way without additional tools to fight against getting infected."

Opponents of circumcision believe that circumcised men may feel they are not at risk of contracting HIV and may be more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.
However, according to Bailey, the Chicago study suggested that circumcision did not increase risky behavior among circumcised or uncircumcised men.
An estimated 30 million people in Africa are infected with HIV/AIDS and more than 90 per cent of HIV infections in adults result from heterosexual intercourse.
In Kisumu, the third-largest city in Kenya, an estimated 26 per cent of uncircumcised men are HIV infected by age 25.

"This study will likely not have a large impact on the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the United States or Europe where heterosexual transmission of HIV is low compared with areas like sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia," Bailey added.
"However, there are other proven health benefits of circumcision, including better hygiene, fewer urinary tract infections, and less risk of cervical cancer in the partners of circumcised men."

source:www.999today.com