Skip to main content

Male circumcision reduced new HIV infections by 90%


Prof John Idoko

Scientists are getting close to ending the scourge of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) with the announcement that male circumcision and antiretroviral (ARV) drugs “significantly reduced new infections by over 90 per cent.”

Encouraged by the findings, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is already planning to circumcise 80 per cent of men in the Sub-Saharan Africa to beat the disease.
The findings, published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) revealed two prevention strategies – male circumcision and antiretroviral drugs – helped reduce new HIV infections in Uganda.

Earlier studies had shown that circumcision reduces infection, by removing the foreskin – where there are a high number of HIV-target cells.
Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof. John Idoko, reacting to the study, said: “ARV drugs are now recommended to be prescribed as soon as a person is diagnosed with HIV – and helps prevent infection in at-risk groups, and efforts must be redoubled to scale up prevention programmes.”

Idoko said Nigeria was planning to put all persons living with the virus on the life-saving drugs both for treatment and to prevent the transmission of the disease. According to him, a pilot study conducted in the country supports the plan. He said that the Federal Government would put at least 50 per cent of the 2.8 million Nigerians living with the virus on treatment by the end of the year.
“The ultimate target is to put all Nigerians living with the virus on drugs. That way we can end AIDS by 2030. But funding is the issue. We are looking for funds to do that because it is going to cost a lot of money,” he said.

According to the study, results of which were announce yesterday, an increasing prevalence of male circumcision among Ugandan communities has been linked to a fall in the number of HIV infections.
The researchers said the practice, in conjunction with more HIV-positive women being given antiretroviral drugs, has brought about ‘significant declines’ in the disease.
The two interventions, observed in rural Ugandan communities, were successful in tightly controlled clinical trials, and have ‘real-world implications’.

The findings are believed to be the first of their kind.
The study suggests further increasing access to these interventions across sub-Saharan Africa could slow the HIV epidemic in the region.

Study leader and associate scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health, United States (U.S.), Dr. Xiangrong Kong, said: “The biology of these two prevention strategies has been proven, but the big question was whether these strategies could have an impact on the number of new HIV infections in communities still struggling to control the spread of the disease.”


Source: Guardian, Nigeria
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

27 years old man jailed 21 years for defiling 6-yr-old girl

A foodstuff seller, Chidi Ibiam, 27, was yesterday sentenced to 21 years imprisonment by an Ikeja High Court for defiling a six-year-old girl. They worship in the same church. The presiding judge, Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya, found the convict who lives at Baruwa, Ipaja area of Lagos, guilty of one-count charge of defilement. The judge held: “I have noted all the relevant facts of this case before me. The defendant is, hereby, found guilty of the crime of defilement and is sentenced to 21 years in prison.” During the trial, the prosecution, led by state counsel, Mr Adebayo Haroun, had told the court that Ibiam committed the offence on December 15, 2012, and was caught after the victim reported the assault to her mother. According to the prosecution, the convict is well known to the victim’s family as he was a neighbour and fellow church member. Testifying before the judge, the six-year-old girl (names withheld), had told the court that the defendant had unlawful carnal kno
Post a Comment
Read more

How is the price of Bitcoin calculated?

How is Bitcoin calculated? I know a lot of people have this question on their mind. Well, here's a good explanation as provided by Luno.com Many people wonder how the price of Bitcoin is calculated, but it’s important to remember that it works no different than it would with other currencies or objects. Let’s first look at how the prices of most things are derived - we can use oranges as an example. What is the price of an orange? Well, it depends. As a starting point, one would derive the price of an orange based on two things: how much someone is trying to sell it for, and how much another person is trying to buy it for. If John wants to sell it for USD2.50 and Sarah is only prepared to pay USD2.00, there is no deal. But if they agree on a price that works for both, let’s say USD2.25, then the transaction will happen. If it’s winter there might be more people wanting to buy oranges, so the price will go up. Or if there is a drought the supply of oranges will become less,
Post a Comment
Read more

Bethesda's E3 2015 kick off: Fallout 4 release date, Doom, Dishonored 2, and more

At first there was nothing. Empty space. The soft quiet of the void. Darkness. An idea, floating in a barren wasteland. And then, a lone voice—loud and getting steadily louder. " Faaaaaaallllllllllooooouuuutttttt ." Thusly did E3 2015 come into being. And let me extend a warm welcome. Sunday night, Bethesda held its first ever E3 press conference at the historic Dolby Theater in Los Angeles (the same venue as The Oscars). Thanks to rumors, leaks, and Bethesda's own marketing, we already knew almost every announcement ahead of time, but…damn. That  Fallout 4  trailer. In case you were busy sleeping, eating, or otherwise going about life as a normal, well-adjusted human, here's what you missed. Bethesda wasted no time, kicking off with  Doom (4) . And oh hey— Doom  exists. Like, we actually saw a hefty amount of in-game footage, and then a big ol'  Doom  logo splashed onscreen and somewhere in the ether John Romero's hair probably tingled a bit.
Post a Comment
Read more