New Study: Circumcision Reduces Herpes & HPV in Males

How long must we wait for the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics to take account of the growing body of medical evidence that points in only one direction -- every boy should be circumcised to protect himself, his partners, and society as a whole.

This week, still another study in the New England Journal of Medicine confirms that male circumcision reduces a male's chance of getting genital herpes and HPV.

After years of such evidence, it's amazing that the CDC and AAP feel so threatened by a small group of anti-circumcision fanatics that they appear to be back-pedaling on doing what is medically right. I will never understand why the foreskin fetishists go to such extremes, but eventually even the docs at the CDC and AAP will yield to medical science and declare what most of us know is true: circumcision is good for every boy!

For more evidence of that, read the full Reuters story, as reported in the Vancouver Times Colonist:

Circumcision protects men from genital herpes and a virus that causes genital warts and cancer but it does not appear to guard against syphilis, U.S. and Ugandan researchers said on Wednesday.

The report in the New England Journal of Medicine adds to the debate over whether men — and newborn boys — should be circumcised to protect their health and perhaps the health of their future sexual partners.

The findings from two trials in Uganda build on related research showing that circumcision cuts a man's risk of HIV infection through heterosexual intercourse by more than 50 per cent, said Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, which funded the study.

They also come at a time when circumcision rates are declining in places like the United States even as evidence mounts that the practice can provide important health benefits.

"Medically supervised adult male circumcision is a scientifically proven method for reducing a man's risk of acquiring HIV infection through heterosexual intercourse," he said.

"This new research provides compelling evidence that circumcision can provide some protection against genital herpes and human papillomavirus infections as well."

The human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. It causes cervical cancer, which kills 300,000 women globally every year.

The team, which also included researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the United States and Makerere University in Uganda, conducted two parallel clinical trials to analyse the impact of male circumcision as a public health tool.

The combined results of the studies looking at more than 3,000 men showed circumcision reduced the risk of herpes by 25 per cent and of HPV by one third. HPV also causes anal and penile cancers.

Circumcision also appeared to reduce the odds of genital warts but had no effect on the incidence of syphilis, the researchers added.

The study highlights the potential of using circumcision to protect people most at risk of the infections in the developing world, especially Africa, where HIV and HPV are widespread.

"Efforts to scale-up male circumcision could have tremendous benefit," said David Serwadda of Makerere University in Uganda, who worked on the study.

Since 2007, circumcision has been promoted by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS as a way to reduce the risk of AIDS in areas where heterosexual transmission is high.

When done in children, the operation reduces the chance of urinary tract infections and phimosis, a problem with the foreskin.

Circumcision Improves Women's Sex Life

"Male circumcision perks up women's sex life" was the headline the other day in The Money Times (of all places). Of course, it's true as we all know. Most women prefer a circumcised male once they've experienced that pleasure. [This is where the foreskin lovers will chime in about most women have sex with uncircumcised males -- but that's only because these poor women don't have any other options].

No surprise, this is still another study that proves the benefits of getting rid of that ugly, disease-ridden foreskin.

"Researchers studied 455 female partners of circumcised men in Uganda. The research team studied the sexual satisfaction of circumcised men’s partners as part of the initial trials to test the efficacy of male circumcision."

"In the study women, between the ages of 15 and 49, reported their sexual satisfaction before and after their partners were circumcised. Around 57 percent of the women reported no change in sexual satisfaction while 39 percent said sex was more satisfying post-circumcision, and mere 3 percent reported less satisfaction after their male partner’s circumcision."

Let's emphasize that. The anti-circ fanatics say that circumcision hurts sex. You know the standard bullshit -- "it takes away thousands of nerve endings" blah blah blah. In this study, a slight majority of women reported no difference -- and 39% said circumcision improved sex. No surprise, only 3% were unhappy. So much for those "nerve endings."

"According to Dr. Godfrey Kigozi, MD, of the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Kalisizo, Uganda, the handful of women who reported reduced sexual satisfaction blamed either lower levels of desire or their partner’s struggle to achieve an erection." Yah, it wasn't the circumcision anyways.

"On the other hand, those women who reported improved sexual satisfaction said improved hygiene (cited by 51 of 177 women) and the fact that their partner took longer to achieve an orgasm (45 of the 177 women) resulting in longer sex, perked up their sex life."

"Kigozi and colleagues reported their findings at the fifth annual International AIDS Society conference on pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention of HIV."

Readers of my blog know that I believe the best reason to circumcise is good public health. But, hey, it can't hurt when that little snip improves your sex life!

Circumcision Prevents Child Abduction

There are so many good health reasons to circumcise little boys that you don't really need to consider other reasons like religion, culture, family, and societal norms. But a lot of factors play into the growing support for universal male circumcision.

But this story provides one reason that I reject as an incentive to circumcise -- the prevention of child abduction. Turns out that in northern Uganda little boys are being abducted for child sacrifice. That's sick and a crime, and the perpetrators should be prosecuted. Parents in that region say that the abductors do not want circumcised boys (or those wearing earings), so more little boys are being circumcised to protect them from being abducted and killed.

Now I'm in favor of almost every reason you can conjure to circumcise males, but this one is totally unacceptable. Go after the criminals! Here's an excerpt from the story:

"Uganda: Circumcision, earrings deter child murder"

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
By IRIN

"More cases of child trafficking and abuse are being reported in the northern Ugandan districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, according to officials. The region is mainly inhabited by an internally displaced population recovering from over a decade of war. . . . Recently, Uganda’s chief judge Benjamin Odoki urged the courts to pass tougher sentences for those involved in child abuse offenses. In the meantime, parents in the north have taken to circumcising their children and adorning them with earrings to deter would be perpetrators. "I hear that witchdoctors do not want circumcised children or those with earrings," Lukwayi Ayot, a local resident told IRIN. "I have decided to circumcise my two boys." Schools have embraced the practice too, said Ayot a local teacher. "We do not forbid any child from wearing earrings in school... to protect them."

Why is America Falling Behind Africa in Pushing Circumcision?

There is terrible irony when it comes to governmental action to promote the circumcision of males. The USA is falling behind, just at a time when its taxpayers are spending millions of dollars to circumcise African males as part of the international attack on the deadly HIV.

While governments in countries like Uganda and Kenya are actively promoting circumcision, the US government turns a blind eye to the growing number of uncircumcised males in America. Here's what Africa Science News reports about Kenya: "The government has entered into a massive campaign advocating for male circumcision to help in reducing the HIV burden in the country where last year, over 18,000 males were circumcised between the age of 15-49 and targets to circumcise at least 50,000 males per year during the drive."

Where is the leadership in the USA? This blog is devoted to an intelligent debate on the question of whether all males should be required to be circumcised for their own protection, that of their partners, and society as a whole. Even the tiny little country of Suriname is offering free circumcisions to encourage a 100% foreskin-free nation!

And in the Phillipines, the U.S. military actually assists in providing free circumcisions to the villages in a country where 100% circumcision is de facto, if not de jure, required. Why isn't the U.S. Army medical corps offering the same to American citizens who are footing the bill?

How ironic if other nations around the world heed the advice of American (and other) medical researchers before we do so ourselves. Ironic and tragic.