| Male circumcision no 100pc HIV protection | Send to a friend |
| Monday, 22 March 2010 13:58 |
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Male circumcision is no excuse for not using condoms as a protective gear against HIV/Aids, experts have warned. They said although it was one of the effective interventions for the prevention of HIV to men, male circumcision should not be considered a barrier to infection of the virus that causes Aids. The acting director general of the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Dr Mwele Malecela Lazaro, said circumcision “can only assist” males from contracting HIV/Aids. She described as false the information circulated by some people that circumcised men were entirely safe from the HIV virus even if they did not use condoms or any protective gear. The NIMR boss wondered how circumcision alone could keep off the virus when even the condoms themselves were not 100 per cent perfect in preventing transmission of the virus from one partner to another. “It (circumcision) is not and cannot be an excuse for not using condoms,” she told journalists at the end of the week-long 24th NIMR Annual Joint Scientific Conference which took place here. Dr Malecela stressed that the national anti-HIV/Aids prevention package should remain the same as recommended by experts with the advocacy and public sensitisation spearheaded by national and local leaders. She noted that people going around discouraging the use of condoms or claiming that male circumcision was the panacea for not contracting the deadly disease should be ignored. However, the accomplished scientist admitted that surveys occasionally carried out in the country had indicated that HIV prevalence was higher in areas with a low practice of circumcision. The deputy minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Asha Kigoda, said male circumcision was being considered an additional intervention against HIV infection, but stressed that more research would continue. “To scale up male circumcision in the context of HIV prevention, the government should ensure both safety and high coverage over a short period,” she said when she closed the NIMR organised conference. Presentations on circumcision vs HIV/Aids were among the most interesting during the conference. Some researchers pressed for male circumcision to be considered as part of the comprehensive HIV/Aids preventive package. Scientists who carried out the research at different levels and in various parts of the country are reported to have agreed that circumcision was an effective intervention for HIV prevention in men. However, they were unanimous that there was a dearth of information regarding cultural attitudes and practices towards circumcision, especially now with the prevalence of the HIV/Aids pandemic. It was found out that traditional circumcision, which is widely practised in the country, could easily become a conduit for the pandemic because it was being conducted in unhygienic conditions and using crude tools. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
Comments
It specifically points out that "If reviewers do not note truncation and do not consider early stopping for benefit, meta-analyses will report overestimates of effects." And that is what has happened with a Cochrane Review (normally highly-regarded) after the trials.
Thus circumcision may offer little protetion against HIV, if any.
The peculiar nature of circumcision gives it a free ride; normally sober scientists let their feelings override their better judgement.
What!!! USA: High Circumcision, High HIV infection rate. Europe: Low circumcision, low HIV infection rate Africa: High circumcision, high HIV infection rate.
If HIV infection is lower in a population it’s more likely that the fact that circumcision is practiced more by religious groups of people. People who are less likely culturally to have sex before marriage and for whom having multiple partners during their life is more taboo. If HIV is lower in some circumcised groups it’s because of cultural attitudes not the circumcision itself.
The fight against AIDS has been hijacked by bias researchers trying to push their own agenda putting more people in Africa in danger.
The one randomized controlled trial into male-to-female transmission showed a 54% higher rate in the group where the men had been circumcised btw.
ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful, Condoms) is the way forward. Promoting genital surgery will cost African lives, not save them.
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