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Could male circumcision reduce HIV incidence in the UK? *
Author(s) -
Rice BD,
Delpech VC,
Evans BG
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2008.00547.x
Subject(s) - medicine , men who have sex with men , incidence (geometry) , anal intercourse , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , male circumcision , public health , psychological intervention , transmission (telecommunications) , treatment as prevention , family medicine , demography , gynecology , environmental health , population , antiretroviral therapy , syphilis , psychiatry , health services , viral load , pathology , physics , electrical engineering , engineering , sociology , optics
We consider the public health relevance of three recent African clinical trials showing male circumcision (MC) to reduce female‐to‐male transmission of HIV for the UK. Although heterosexually acquired HIV infections now account for the majority of new diagnoses in the UK each year, it is important to note that when considering the public health relevance of MC for the UK a large majority of these infections are acquired abroad. Men who have sex with men (MSM) remain those most at risk of acquiring their HIV infection in the UK. The efficacy and effectiveness of MC among MSM and in particular its protective role in unprotected anal intercourse between men remains unknown. Any future consideration of the role of MC in reducing HIV incidence in the UK should not be at the expense of weakening existing effective interventions.