Circumcision
Circumcision 'can block HIV infection'- Reuters/ABC, March 26,
2004
Circumcised men are less likely to be infected with the virus
that causes AIDS because of biological reasons and not less risky
behaviour, scientists say.
Studies have shown that men whose foreskin has been removed are
six to eight times less likely to become HIV positive but there
has been some debate about the reason for the lower infection
rate.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in the
United States found that circumcision had a protective effect
against HIV, but not against other sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) such as syphilis or gonorrhoea.
"The specificity of this relation suggests a biological
rather than behavioural explanation for the protective effect
of male circumcision against HIV," Dr Robert Bollinger said
in a report in The Lancet medical journal.
Although male circumcision is common in the United States, the
practice varies throughout the world and is influenced by cultural
and religious attitudes.
Dr Bollinger and his team studied men in India, where circumcision
is not common, between 1993 and 2000.
All of the 2,298 men were attending one of three sexually transmitted
disease clinics and were HIV negative at the start of the study.
Their HIV status and risk behaviour were assessed regularly.
"These data confirm previous findings that male circumcision
reduces the risk of HIV acquisition," Dr Bollinger said.
Because circumcision did not prevent the men from infection with
other STIs, Dr Bollinger believes the study supports the hypothesis
that protection is due to the removal of the foreskin, which contains
cells that have HIV receptors which scientists suspect are the
primary entry point for the virus into the penis.
"Our results suggest that the foreskin has an important
role in the biology of sexual transmission of HIV," he said.
Some researchers have recommended male circumcision as a means
to prevent the spread of HIV.
Dr Bollinger and his team called for clinical trials, where culturally
acceptable, to assess the safety and effectiveness of male circumcision
as a toll against AIDS.
They also stressed the need for new compounds to block the entry
of the virus into the cell.
-- Reuters
|
