WHO, UNAIDS Urge Circumcision for Heterosexual Males to Reduce HIV Infections

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

WHO, UNAIDS Urge Circumcision for Heterosexual Males to Reduce HIV Infections

03-28-2007 1:49 PM
By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer

GENEVA (Associated Press) -- Heterosexual men should be circumcised because of compelling evidence it reduces their chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent, U.N. health agencies said Wednesday.

But men should still use condoms and other protection against the virus, said the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, the U.N. agency that coordinates the global fight against the AIDS virus.

"We must be clear," said Catherine Hankins, of UNAIDS. "Male circumcision does not provide complete protection against HIV."


Jos Perriens, left, Coordinator Prevention in the Health Sector Departments of HIV/AIDS WHO, speaks next to Teguest Guerma, right, Associate Director Department of HIV/AIDS of WHO, about the WHO's and UNAIDS' recommendations from expert consultations on male circumcision for HIV prevention, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Wedensday, March 28, 2007. (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi)

Besides condoms, men and women should use protections such as abstinence, delaying the start of sexual activity and reducing the number of sexual partners, she said.

Read more: http://omaha.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D8O5BHTG1&_action=validatearticle