Circumcision may cut millions from HIV death numbers
Circumcising men routinely across Africa could
prevent millions of deaths from AIDS, World Health Organization researchers and
colleagues reported on Monday.
Circumcising men routinely across Africa could prevent millions of deaths from AIDS, World Health Organization researchers and colleagues reported on Monday.
They analyzed data from trials that showed men who had been circumcised had a significantly lower risk of infection with the AIDS virus, and calculated that if all men were circumcised over the next 10 years, some two million new infections and around 300,000 deaths could be avoided.
[Extending the results from the trial area –] “This analysis shows that male circumcision could avert nearly six million new infections and save three million lives in sub-Saharan Africa over the next twenty years.”
Of course, adding a new method — even one with significant results like this — doesn’t take away from the need for education and accessibility to safe sex practices.
Posted: Tue - July 11, 2006 at 07:06 AM