Nature Medicine | Spoonful of Medicine

Cutting truths

As I’ve written before, circumcision is gaining currency as an effective means of preventing HIV. Data published in last week’s Lancet suggests that circumcision cuts the risk of HIV infection by up to 65%, more even than the previous estimates.

The World Health Organization is hosting a conference in early March to make recommendations on implementing circumcision for preventing AIDS. But judging from comments here and elsewhere, it’s going to be a tough sell.

Experts have warned that unsafe circumcision can endanger lives. A new study, published in the March issue of the Annals of Epidemiology, adds that in some African countries, circumcised boys are two to three times more likely to be infected with HIV. This may be because circumcision is often done with unsterilized equipment and can pass on infected blood from one child to another.

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