March 26, 2009

Male Circumcision Reduces Herpes, HPV Risk

With trials already showing that male circumcision reduces HIV risk in heterosexual men, new evidence reveals that the procedure also protects against other incurable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV), The Wall Street Journal reports. Both herpes and HPV increase the risk of HIV transmission.

According to the article, scientists from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Makerere University in Uganda tracked the health of 1,684 circumcised African men and 1,709 uncircumcised men for two years. They found that circumcised heterosexual men are 35 percent less likely to contract HPV and 25 percent less likely to catch herpes than men who hadn’t undergone the medical procedure.

While the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in 1999 that evidence is “not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision,” the organization expects to finish reviewing its circumcision guidelines by the end of this year.

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Previous Comments:

Mike Arnold, Nicholasville, 2009-06-07 13:09:25
Seems circumcision has been used as a cure all for everything imaginable. Not sure when this procedure will finally be laid to rest in this country and people will realize how cruel it is to lop off perfectly healthy body parts of babies.

63801, 63801, 2009-03-31 12:34:35
I got Hiv from my infected wife. The Doctor said it was most likely from the large amount of hair on my penis compromising the condom ( which it did on many occassions) Hairy penis' are unknown to uncircumsised men. Just men that have had a large amount of their natural skin choppped off. Now we are a family of 2 with aids.