The World Health Organisation (WHO) says male circumcision should become a part of programmes to control the spread of HIV/Aids in Africa.
A new study has shown that three million deaths and nearly six million HIV infections could be prevented in Africa, if the practice of male circumcision is expanded over the next 20 years. The study combined results from a trail at Orange farm south of Johannesburg with data on HIV and circumcision rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Brian Williams of the WHO says circumcision alone won't bring the pandemic under control.
Williams says it reduces your chances for getting HIV - but it does not give complete protection. So, the key message has to be that - men should get circumcised but they must still as far as possible have safe sex and fewer partners. He says the important message is that it reduces your chances against HIV/Aids infection, but it does not give complete protection.
However, Kate Hankins, the chief scientific advisor at another UN agency, UNAids, says it's premature to promote circumcision as a measure of protection against HIV/Aids. Hankins says their position will depend on the outcomes of other trials under way in Kenya and Uganda. She says they will obviously be watching very closely - to see what happens with the other trials and try to understand what role male circumcision might be able to play in an HIV prevention program. But at this point in time - they are not promoting male circumcision for HIV prevention purposes.
Follow up: Similar kind of Health News
Male circumcision could prevent millions of AIDS deaths: Study was published in the xenoMED on 07-12-2006.
HIV infection in pregnant women increases
The HIV infection rate in pregnant women has gone up slightly from 29.5% in 2004 to 30.2% last year. This is according to the National HIV and Syphilis Antenatal Sero-Prevalence survey.
Participants between 25 - 29 years continue to have the highest infection rate at nearly 40%. The rate among pregnant teenagers has stabilised at 15.9%.
Laetitia Rispel, of the Human Science Research Council, says the data shows the infection levels are still very high. One out of every three women is being infected. Rispel says prevention campaigns should be scaled up considerably.
The estimated amount of people living with HIV in 2005 was 5.5 million.
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