HIV Circumcision Study Cut Short

An Uganda study has suggested that females are not protected from contracting HIV if a man is circumcised. It has been prior knowledge that women are better protected from HIV if the male has been circumcised.

A study conducted in Uganda has showed that circumcising men who have HIV does not protect the female from the virus. Circumcised men are known to be better protected from acquiring HIV. Health experts insist that HIV-men should be offered the option of being circumcised. The U.S. researchers from John Hopkins School of Public Health say, “Not offering the procedure to men with HIV would stigmatise them.” Prior research suggests females could be protected from HIV if their male partners are circumcised. In Uganda, 922 18-49 year-olds, uncircumcised and HIV-infected were selected to have circumcisions. 474 men were circumcised and 448 men were to be circumcised two years later. The trial came to an early conclusion for fear that the vainness would carry on and also the second group was not circumcised. After the study came to an end, only 92 couples in the immediate circumcision set and 67 in the control group were included in the final analysis. Analysis showed that 18% of women were infected with HIV in the instantaneous circumcision group as opposed to 12% of the control group. However, researchers claim that this could be a result of the couples continuing their sex lives before the circumcision could properly be healed. Dr. Maria Wawer, the team-leader, wrote, “Circumcision of HIV-infected men did not reduce HIV transmission to female partners over 24 months; longer-term effects could not be assessed. It's inevitable that men who are infected with HIV will also require to be circumcised, partly to avoid stigmatisation. The findings suggest that strict adherence to sexual abstinence during wound healing, and continuous condom use thereafter must be strongly promoted when HIV-infected men receive circumcision.” The final solution is to circumcise men at a young age, “Circumcising infants and young boys before their sexual debut would mitigate the challenge of male circumcision in HIV-infected men. However, this strategy would require careful consideration of issues relating to parental consent and the minor's consent.”