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'Circumcision could help reduce HIV'
Xoliswa Zulu. 24 November 2006. Indepent Online. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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It might not be the magic pill to cure HIV/AIDS, but parents who have their sons circumcised at an early age could dramatically reduce the rate of infection in their children in the future, the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council's conference on HIV-prevention strategies heard on Thursday.
Research has found that HIV spreads faster when male circumcision is not performed, and that circumcision reduces the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. About 25% of the world male population is circumcised.
Studies have found that HIV incidence could be reduced by one-third if there was a 100 percent circumcision rate among men. They found that 80 percent of male HIV infections worldwide happened through the foreskin of the penis, which was more susceptible to scratches and tears during intercourse.
Speaking at the conference, Dr Koleka Mlisana from the CAPRISA, said that while circumcision might not be the only method to prevent new HIV infections, it was a solution that should be investigated.
Quoting from a study of 3 274 circumcised and uncircumcised men, conducted at Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, by French doctor Bertran Auvert, Mlisana said the study found that only 20 circumcised men were infected with HIV, compared with the 49 uncircumcised who were infected.
"The foreskin increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and the environment under the foreskin (moisture and temperature), may favour micro-organism survival and replication. Circumcised penises develop a layer of keratin (a family of fibrous structural proteins that are tough and insoluble) that minimised the risk of HIV infection," she said.
Mlisana said that male circumcision in the next 10 years could prevent more than 3,7-million infections and 2,7-million deaths.
"Promoting circumcision should be part of prevention strategies and studies show that it helps (to prevent HIV transmission). But we need to keep in mind that it's one part of a global strategy. It would be irresponsible to say that it is the only answer to tackling the problem we are faced with."
She warned that circumcision should not give people a sense of security and that they should take other precautionary measures as well. "People need to guard against thinking that circumcision is the only way to prevent infection. Don't engage in risky behaviour because you think you are protected." |
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