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Studies in Africa have shown that a man's risk of contracting HIV/AIDS can be halved if he is circumcised but the New Zealand AIDS Foundation was quick to point out that it does not mean circumcised gay and bisexual men are only half as likely to get infected with HIV. The preliminary results from two major trials in Kenya and Uganda of around 8,000 men show that medical circumcision of men reduces their risk of acquiring HIV during heterosexual intercourse by 53 percent. It supports a previous South African study, which showed a 60 per cent reduction in HIV infection among circumcised men. The US National Institutes of Health announced its decision to end the study early in light of the striking findings.
Kwango Agot of the University of Nairobi, Kenya, a senior programme officer at the study centre, explained that uncircumcised men are at higher risk of contracting HIV because the foreskin is rich in sentinel cells of the immune system and attach easily to HIV. "The foreskin sometimes ruptures during intercourse."
In response to the media reports, The New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) was quick to point out that the results does not mean that circumcised gay and bisexual men are only half as likely to get infected with HIV.
Five top United Nations agencies - the World Health Organization, UN Population Fund, Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UN Children's Fund and the World Bank - have also cautioned that despite the findings, urging people to continue using condoms during sexual intercourse.
"Circumcised men can still become infected with the virus and, if HIV-positive, can infect their sexual partners," said a joint statement.
It added that circumcision should never replace other known, effective preventive methods and should be considered as part of a comprehensive prevention package.
Eamonn Smythe, NZAF Acting Executive Director, was quoted in GayNZ.com as saying, "There is no evidence to suggest that circumcision prevents the spread of HIV through unprotected anal sex, which is the most common method of transmission between men in New Zealand."
"The anus lining has a dense collection of cells that act as receptors for HIV, which are spread across a much greater surface area than the foreskin," Smythe said. "The great majority of gay and bisexual men with HIV in New Zealand are likely to have become infected through the lining of the anus."
Smythe also discourages gay men who are considering circumcision as a substitute for using condoms as little research has been done about the correlation between circumcision and HIV infection via anal sex, stressing that the best prevention against HIV for gay and bisexual men are still condoms. 2011-04-24
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