News of HIV discovered by U.S.?

Question

NYT
Published: December 14, 2006
Circumcision appears to reduce a man’s risk of contracting AIDS from heterosexual sex by half, United States government health officials said yesterday, and the directors of the two largest funds for fighting the disease said they would consider paying for circumcisions in high-risk countries.

An easy way to stop half of our world wide HIV ?
Do you agree with the idea of circumcisions
to prevent HIV.?
What do you think about this?

I think it has to do with immigration because of the world wide impact of HIV on all of us.

The announcement was made by officials of the National Institutes of Health as they halted two clinical trials, in Kenya and Uganda, on the ground that not offering circumcision to all the men taking part would be unethical. The success of the trials confirmed a study done last year in South Africa.

AIDS experts immediately hailed the finding. “This is very exciting news,” said Daniel Halperin, an H.I.V. specialist at the Harvard Center for Population and Development, who has argued that circumcision slows the spread of AIDS in the parts of Africa where it is common.

In an interview from Zimbabwe, he added, “I have no doubt that as word of this gets around, millions of African men will want to get circumcised, and that will save many lives.”

Uncircumcised men are thought to be more susceptible because the underside of the foreskin is rich in Langerhans cells, sentinel cells of the immune system, which attach easily to the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS. The foreskin also often suffers small tears during intercourse.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/health/14hiv.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Think again
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • Prevention/Epidemiology
As Many as 260,000 Mexicans Are Living With HIV

http://www.thebody.com/cdc/news_updates_archive/2004/dec3_04/mexico_hiv.html

Answer 1

Circumcision can save over two million in the next 15 years. This is very serious and should not be taken as a joke.

All these studies have been carried out by prestigious and respectable research institutions and universities, and are back in many cases by official organisations such as the US National Institutions of Health or the World Health Organisation.

Why uncircumcised men are more prone to STD’s?

Scientist have discovered that the skin covering the inner side of the foreskin is by its nature (has a very low amount of a protein called ‘keratin’ which stops viruses entering into the body, plus some other factors) acts as an ‘open door’ to STD’s. Circumcision, by removing the foreskin, ‘closes’ this ‘door’.

Circumcision rates are increasing nowadays, both in the United States and overseas. Many African and South American countries with little circumcision tradition are starting to promote the procedure to help to reduce the AIDS-HIV infection rates.

The sites below have very interesting information related to this topic. Please have a look.

http://www.baby-health.net/articles/381.html

Answer 2

Yes, this should come as no surprise. The idea that circumcision might be protective against HIV was first suggested in 1986. Since then, 30 to 40 observational studies investigated the issue, supporting the hypothesis. Additionally, studies of foreskin tissue found that it contained cells susceptible to the virus. The indications were sufficiently strong that three randomised controlled trials began, to test the theory once and for all. The first completed last summer, and now the other two have done so.

Answer 3

Although the risk for contracting HIV may be lower in circumcized men, it isn´t null, and wouldn´t be considered a true protection against it as if it were a condom. When AIDS broke out amongst the gay population in San Francisco in the early 80s, I´m sure the majority of those men were circumcized.

In Mexico the vast majority of men are not circumcized, but I´m not sure as to the percentage of those infected with HIV per capita when compared to the US.

Answer 4

This is VERY old news. This research was done when I was working in a health clinic 13 years ago. The reason for the increase in the spread of HIV in uncircumcised men is due to the virus being trapped under the foreskin and entering through the mucos membranes.

I do not believe that it has anything to due with immigration issues..

Answer 5

The best solution may be to circumsize all men leaving the USA. Sex Tourism is a major factor in the transmission of the virus.

Answer 6

What I find funy is that many white folks depending on where they are from have been shown to be either immune or highly resistant to HIV. Seems when our ancestors were migrating they got a milder form thousands and thousands of years ago and the resistant genes still manifest themselves today.

Answer 7

This is the only good reason I have ever heard for men to be circumcised. I still don't think it would reduce HIV by fifty percent, though. Even those men will get it if they are active enough.

Answer 8

That claim is ridiculous and is another distraction away from the fact that living a clean life (such as having sex with your opposite-sex wife or husband only) is the way to prevent AIDS, for the most part.

Answer 9

I don't feel 50% is still a good percentage. The safest method to avoid AIDS is using protection.

Answer 10

I know of a way we can stop 99% of world-wide HIV.

Stop having rampant sex.