(Geneva) - After meeting this month, AIDS experts say new info shows that circumcision is a way to decrease the average rate of HIV infection-- but only among str8 men. 'More study' is needed to see whether circumcision reduces gay HIV transmission. However, so far, the data seem to indicate that it might.
"It probably does, but we don't have sufficient research now to confirm that," said Dr. Teguest Guermo of WHO. "We will be doing some more research on that."
The UNAIDS directorate of the World Health Organization says that in some trials, circumcision of str8 men reduced the likelihood that they'd contract HIV by as much as 60%. But those trials were in Africa, and gay men were excluded from them.
The experts also warn against anyone--gay or str8-- getting the idea that circumcision alone will prevent HIV.
More information is in the International Herald Tribune [4]
