Circumcision called key in fighting AIDS
Researcher urges nations to back surgery on males
By Meraiah Foley, Associated Press
July 25, 2007

SYDNEY -- A US health specialist urged governments worldwide yesterday to endorse circumcision to slow the spread of HIV, saying men without the procedure have a greater risk of contracting the virus from infected female partners.

Specialists at an AIDS conference in Sydney also warned that HIV infection rates were rising in developing countries among men who have sex with men. The specialists attributed the increase to discrimination and lack of access to health services. The World Health Organization said male circumcision reduces the risk of female-to-male transmission of the disease by about 60 percent. But only 30 percent of men worldwide have had the procedure, mostly in countries where it is common for religious or health reasons.

Robert Bailey, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois, said studies in Africa showed that uncircumcised men were 2.5 times more likely to contract HIV from infected female partners, though many health officials were still unclear about the procedure's benefits. the rest