Circumcision cuts risk of HIV by 54 per cent
Circumcision cuts risk of HIV by 54 per cent
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Wednesday, 15, Apr 2009 08:39
African researchers are calling for policymakers to seriously consider using male circumcision to combat HIV, after it was found to reduce the risk of catching the virus by 54 per cent.
Three recent African trials into the link between circumcision and HIV, which included a total of 11,054 heterosexual men, claim to be conclusive and to provide strong proof to recommend it as a preventative measure.
However, further research is needed to establish whether male circumcision offers any benefit to women partners of circumcised men and homosexual men.
It is thought circumcision may help protect against HIV by removing cells in the foreskin which the virus is specifically attracted to. These cells, called Langerhans cells, display receptors that enable HIV entry.
Previous studies into this association have not given sufficiently high quality evidence for researchers to be able to make strong recommendations for the procedure as a proven prevention.
The results drawn from the clinical trials in South Africa, Uganda and Kenya between 2002 and 2006 indicate that the risk of contracting HIV is significantly reduced for at least the first two years after circumcision. It is thought that although there was a 54 per cent reduced risk of catching HIV in circumcised men in the trial, the true reduction would be between 38 to 66 per cent.
Lead researcher Nandi Siegfried, co-director of the South African Cochrane Centre at the South African Medical Research Council, said: "Policymakers can consider implementing circumcision as an additional measure into HIV prevention programmes."
But Dr Siegfried warned that policymakers need to consider the cultural implications of circumcision.
"In many countries, male circumcision is practiced as part of the rites of initiation by traditional healers who are not trained in aseptic surgical techniques," she said. "So adverse events following traditional circumcisions can be high."