Medi-watch

A snip away from contracting HIV

Circumcision reduces the chances of men catching HIV by as much as 60 per cent, according to what's described as conclusive data from two major trials by the US National Institutes of Health published in the Lancet. 'This is an extraordinary development,' says World Health Organisation Aids department director Kevin de Cock. 'Circumcision is the most potent intervention that has been described.' The significance of the breakthrough is on par with the identification of the virus and the use of lifesaving combination drug therapy, AP reports. The results of the trials in Kenya and Uganda were so conclusive that they were halted ahead of schedule.

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