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"Surprise finding in AIDS study"
The
Star (www.thestar.com.my)
(28/07/05)
RIO DE JANEIRO: Male circumcision
significantly reduces the chances of female-to-male transmission of the AIDS
virus, according to a new study French researchers announced on Tuesday.
The study, conducted in South Africa, found that circumcision reduced the
risk of men contracting AIDS during heterosexual intercourse by about 65%.
“There had always been a suspicion that male circumcision prevented AIDS ...
but this is the first randomised study using control trials,'' said Dr
Bertrand Auvert, who co-ordinated the study for France's National AIDS
Research Agency.
Dr Auvert announced the finding at the Third International AIDS Society
Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment here.
The study was conducted between 2002 and this year with more than 3,000
healthy, sexually active males between 18 and 24 in Orange Farm, South
Africa, where about 32% of the female population was HIV-positive. For the
study, about half of the subjects were circumcised by medical professionals,
and the rest remained uncircumcised.
All the men received counselling on AIDS prevention. But after 21 months, 51
members of the uncircumcised group had contracted HIV, the AIDS virus, while
only 18 members of the circumcised group had gotten the disease.
Circumcision “prevented six to seven out of 10 potential HIV infections,''
said Dr Auvert.
He said the study did not analyse the effect of circumcision on
male-to-female transmission or if circumcision provides effective protection
over the long term.
At least three more studies are under way to confirm the effectiveness of
circumcision.
But scientists said the study was cause for guarded optimism.
“While these results are very promising, we need to put them in a broader
context to see the full benefits of circumcision. So we need to look at
results from other studies,'' said Dr Charles Gilks, director-co-ordinator
of treatment and prevention for the World Health Organisation.
A study funded by the US National Health Institute is under way in Uganda. —
AP
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