The Kindest Cut

There appears to be growing evidence that male circuncision helps to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Two recent studies that were conducted in Africa revealed that circumcision cuts the chance of catching the HIV virus in half. These studies were conducted in Uganda and Kenya on thousands of participants.

In the Kenyan study, 2,784 people tested negative for the deadly virus. This study showed a 53 percent difference in the rate of contagion between those who have been circumcised and those who have not.

The Ugandan study tested 4,996 people and the difference here between the circumcised and the non circumcised came to 48 percent.

According to the study's results, the chances of the circumcised examinees catching the disease during sex decreased significantly compared to those who had not been circumcised.

The studies began in 2005 and were meant to continue until next year, but were cut short in light of the significant results already reached.

United States' National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni, who was responsible for conducting the study, said that these findings would be of great importance in regards to the public plans for preventing the epidemic.

It looks like all those folks complaining about routine circumcision may be a menace to public health.

It also appears that circumcision may protect against cancer of the penis.

Although experimental evidence has given conflicting results, many authors believe from their direct clinical observations, that smegma is an irritant agent, responsible for carcinoma of the penis. Jewish males who generally have complete circumcisions have almost complete immunity to this neoplasm; two cases of carcinoma of the penis in circumcised Jews have been reported in the literature. In the United States, Wolbarst was unable to find a case of carcinoma of the penis among 1103 Jewish men with neoplastic disease and similar findings have been observed in Israel. In contrast to Jewish males, Moslems not infrequently have incomplete circumcisions and they appear to be less protected from this disease.

This obviously is a touchy subject. Parents will have to come to their own conclusions.

However, in places like Africa, where hygene is lacking because piped running water is not abundant, routine circumcision in a clean environment may be a very good idea.

Otherwise, cleanliness is next to godliness, and had better come first.