NEW THIS MONDAY: TEN ON MALE CIRCUMCISION

Sunday, 5th of May 2013

WHAT’S NEW THIS MONDAY: TEN ON MALE CIRCUMCISION

There is a growing literature on male circumcision and HIV prevention. The last 10 years have seen 683 publications on this topic, more than 2/3 of them since 2008.

For the uninitiated, the Cochrane summary, at http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD003362/male-circumcision-for-prevention-of-heterosexual-acquisition-of-hiv-in-men is a good general introduction. Country articles from South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya reflect the geographical scope of most current program interventions. One topic not widely studied is traditional circumcision, common in many parts of Africa, discussed for one country at http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1944 . There are many situations (one thinks of Eastern Cape, for example) where traditional circumcision needs review and reform from the safety standpoint. Botched traditional circumcisions give a bad name to modern procedures.

Most program efforts in Africa have looked at circumcision of adolescents and adults. Another approach is neonatal circumcision, the subject of an unpublished study from Botswana at http://www.retroconference.org/2013b/PDFs/1011.pdf

On the program side, the PEPFAR guide to best practices, at http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1955 is a vade mecum for those introducing male circumcision programs.

Outside Africa, there are publications on the applicability and acceptability of male circumcision from Thailand (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23431830 ), China (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22946988 ), and India (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22973951 ). For the moment, male circumcision is rare in Asia with the exception of South Korea, the Philippines, and Muslim countries.

As developing countries review the feasibility of rolling in male circumcision, debate in the U.S. centers around the recently revised American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement, accessible at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/3/585.long . The current statement is more favorable to circumcision than previous AAP issuances.

ITEMS POSTED AND WEBLINKS:

PEPFAR’S BEST PRACTICES FOR VOLUNTARY MEDICAL CIRCUMCISION SITE OPERATIONS
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1955

COCHRANE SUMMARY: MALE CIRCUMCISION FOR PREVENTION OF HETEROSEXUAL ACQUISITION OF HIV IN MEN
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1949

PERCEPTIONS OF MALE CIRCUMCISION AMONG POLICE OFFICERS IN DAR ES SALAAM
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1948

DETERMINANTS OF CIRCUMCISION AND WILLINGNESS TO BE CIRCUMCISED BY RWANDAN MEN
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1950

PERCEPTIONS OF MALE CIRCUMCISION AMONG POLICE OFFICERS IN DAR ES SALAAM
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1948

UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF A COMBINATION HIV PREVENTION INTERVENTION IN A HYPER-ENDEMIC COMMUNITY
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1947

THE AIDS CONTROL PROGRAM IN UGANDA
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1943

TRADITIONAL MALE CIRCUMCISION IN UGANDA
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1944

SERVICE PROVISION, MALE CIRCUMCISION IN KENYA
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1945

EFFICIENT AND EQUITABLE HIV PREVENTION: A CASE STUDY OF MALE CIRCUMCISION IN SOUTH AFRICA
http://www.childsurvival.net/?content=com_articles&artid=1946