Sunday, February 11, 2007

Carte Blanche agrees - circumcision lowers risk of HIV transmission...

Aha. Carte Blanche agrees - circumcision can almost HALVE your risk of contracting HIV. Yet no-one believed us when we said it... The show is playing currently, but they should have the backup research studies on their site soon.

Jury out? There are some telling articles on the net. Try this one.


It used to be called the unkindest cut. But now the head of the one of the world's largest Aids charities believes we are on the brink of a revolution in attitudes to circumcision.

Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said research revealing the protective effect of circumcision against HIV was set to change parental expectations and medical practice across the world. Instead of viewing the operation as an assault on the male sex, it was increasingly being seen as a lifesaving procedure which every parent would want for their sons.

Removing the foreskin is thought to harden the glans (head) of the penis, making it less permeable to viruses. Research conducted in 2005 showed the transmission of HIV from women to men during sex was reduced by 60 per cent if the men were circumcised.

A study published last month calculated that if all men in sub-Saharan Africa were circumcised, it would prevent almost six million new cases of HIV infection and save three million lives over the next 20 years.



This is no longer only a choice issue. It is now a health issue. Six million potential lives say so.

PS. They also stated, on national television, at last, that HIV prevalency in upper class South Africa is on the rise. Certain commentors from our previous HIV article - take heed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just a quick comment. Carte Blanche do REALLY responsible journalism. Circumcision is not a cure-all, it's a trend showing up in studies. My favourite bit:

"If sex is like driving, circumcision is like wearing a seat belt."

Well put.

Champagne Heathen said...

Most people in the HIV world have been very pleased about the circumcision research study that happened in Orange Farm, but are being cautious until we have received the results of the two follow up studies in Uganda & Kenya.

The one factor that COULD play against this finding is that all the men who participated in the study were given AIDS Awareness talks and info and access to condoms beforehand, so to keep the study within ethical lines. One could question whether then they actually were protected because of consequential informed behvaiour.

However, from my very basic medical/ biology understanding, a lack of foreskin means much less of a chance of STIs being able to infect the man - STIs being a top factor in the transmission of HIV, as they break the skin and so allow HIV to access the blood stream etc. As well as lessing the ability of HIV itself to hide under skin folds & access the body.

I also loved their analogy to circumcision being a seat belt! As this info gets out, we just have to be VERY careful to make people aware that it is not a means of protection & complete prevention.

Jennifer Robert said...

I am here to appreciate Dr OGU for using his herbal medicine to cure my Herpes virus. Is about 2 years and 6 months now I have been living with this virus and it has been a serious problem to me, I was so confused cause i have been taking several drugs to be cured but all of my effort was in vain,one morning i was browsing through the internet then i saw several testimonies about Dr. OGU curing people from Herpes virus and immediately i contacted Dr. on his email: drogugusolutionhome@gmail.com , i told him about my troubles and he told me that i must be cured, he gave me some instructions and which i rightly followed. so he prepared a herbal medicine and sent it to me via DHL which i used for 2 weeks and i was cured everything was like a dream to me and my Herpes virus was totally gone, dr .OGU , God bless you and give you more power and ability for more cures.i dont know if there is any one out there suffering for herpes virus or any of these diseases..DIABETIES, CANCER,GENITAL AND SIMPLEX HERPES,LOW SPERMS COUNT,SYPHILIS, HIV/AIDS, FIBRIOD,COPD,MENINGITIES,HEPATITIES A, B [HBV] DISEASES, liver diseases .etc why don't you contact dr.Ogu today and be free from your diseases because he is very good and honest Doctor. contact him via email; drogugusolutionhome@gmail.com or text/call him via : +1 (719) 629 0982