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Dec. 14, 2006 -- Male circumcisioncircumcision may cut a man's risk of contracting HIV in half, according to two new studies.
The preliminary finding is based on two studies of men living in the African nations of Kenya and Uganda, in areas where heterosexual transmission of the virus is common.
Because of the promising results, the studies were halted early to give all participants the option of getting circumcised.
"Circumcision is now a proven, effective prevention strategy to reduce HIV infections in men," says Robert Bailey, PhD, in a University of Chicago news release.
Bailey, a University of Chicago epidemiology professor, worked on one of the African studies.
However, he cautions, "Circumcision cannot be a stand-alone intervention" against HIV transmission.
"It has to be integrated with all the other things that we do to prevent new HIV infections, such as treating sexually transmitted diseases and providing condoms and behavioral counseling," Bailey says.
Adult Male Circumcision Studies
One study included nearly 5,000 men in Rakai, Uganda; the other almost 2,800 men in Kisumu, Kenya. Both were funded by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
None of the study participants had been circumcised before the studies started.
The Ugandan men were 15 to 49 years old; the Kenyan men 18 to 24. They were randomly assigned to get circumcision (surgical removal of the foreskin) right away or after a two-year delay.
Trained medical staff performed the circumcisions in an operating room under local anesthesia and provided follow-up care as the men healed from the procedure.