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