tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post3235082934287283473..comments2023-10-08T12:27:04.050+03:00Comments on HIV in Kenya: Circumcision, PrEP and Vaginal Gel: HIV Prevention Show-Stoppers?Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-73400318885917394132012-03-05T15:17:29.413+03:002012-03-05T15:17:29.413+03:00Yes, it's well known that the gains from certa...Yes, it's well known that the gains from certain 'prevention' interventions, if there are any gains, could easily be lost through changes in behavior. But maybe no one will notice. Figures for new infections are often vague enough and most countries couldn't really tell you with any certainty how many new infections there each year, how many deaths, how many on treatment, how many new patients on treatment, etc.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-62106613105422493692012-03-05T06:54:41.432+03:002012-03-05T06:54:41.432+03:00It is very simple to model and demonstrate that re...It is very simple to model and demonstrate that relatively small decrease in condom use can completely undo any advantage in circumcising a large percentage of the men in a community. If, as many suspect, that circumcision is not as effective as advertised, then a circumcision program that lowers condom usage could result in an increased number of HIV infections.Petit Pouletnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-6418195650801599282012-02-27T15:24:21.463+03:002012-02-27T15:24:21.463+03:00"But in one tribe that practices 100% circumc..."But in one tribe that practices 100% circumcision, HIV prevalence is very high also, but mainly among women (the Luhya of Western Kenya)."<br /><br />Circumcision proponents ought to be ashamed. Weren't they the ones who were saying that women were supposed to be "indirectly protected" through male circumcision?<br /><br />Talk about "trickle-down HIV prevention."<br /><br />"...even those pushing the programs accept that circumcision doesn't reduce transmission during male to male receptive anal sex, which means they would probably also accept that it doesn't work for male to female anal sex either. But heterosexual HIV transmission is said to be highest among black American men, who also tend to be circumcised!"<br /><br />What a disgraceful waste of funds. Africans can't get food, clean water or even safe healthcare. But let's spend millions on a dubious mode of prevention that has consistently proven to fail! Let's exacerbate the HIV problem by providing an alternative to the most effective mode of protection known to us!<br /><br />When this charade finally comes crashing down, who is going to hold these idiots responsible?Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190648498809795551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-6466104129557666862012-02-27T12:23:15.586+03:002012-02-27T12:23:15.586+03:00Hi Joseph, yes, the 80% figure is strange because ...Hi Joseph, yes, the 80% figure is strange because about 85% of Kenyans are already circumcised. Efforts are being concentrated on the small population of uncircumcised men because it's one of the areas where lack of circumcision is correlated with high HIV rates. But in one tribe that practices 100% circumcision, HIV prevalence is very high also, but mainly among women (the Luhya of Western Kenya).<br /><br />As you say, there are many countries where HIV prevalence is higher among circumcised men and I don't know how those pushing male circumcision will get around that. UNAIDS, the WHO and the US CDC, PEPFAR, etc, tend to ignore such details in their literature.<br /><br />You're right about the US but even those pushing the programs accept that circumcision doesn't reduce transmission during male to male receptive anal sex, which means they would probably also accept that it doesn't work for male to female anal sex either. But heterosexual HIV transmission is said to be highest among black American men, who also tend to be circumcised!Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-25374596495498470152012-02-27T10:39:12.136+03:002012-02-27T10:39:12.136+03:00But what about AMERICA, the country behind the cir...But what about AMERICA, the country behind the circumcision push in Africa?<br /><br />When the HIV/AIDS epidemic hit, circumcision rates were at 90% or so, and yet circumcision failed to avert an HIV epidemic. http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/1998/19981125_global_epidemic_report_en.pdf<br /><br />And, it hasn't stopped other STDs either.<br />http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/01/13/us-infections-usa-idUSTRE50C5XV20090113?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0<br /><br />In America, the majority of the male population is circumcised, approximately 80%, while in most countries in Europe, circumcision is uncommon. Despite these facts, our country does poorly.<br />http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=419&Itemid=177<br /><br />In fact, AIDS rates in some US Cities rival hotspots in Africa. In some parts of the U.S., they're actually higher than those in sub-Saharan Africa. According to a 2010 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, rates of HIV among adults in Washington, D.C. exceed 1 in 30; rates higher than those reported in Ethiopia, Nigeria or Rwanda.<br />http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1000069<br /><br />The Washington D.C. district report on HIV and AIDS reported an increase of 22% from 2006 in 2009.<br /><br />According to Shannon L. Hader, HIV/AIDS Administration, Washington D.C., March 15, 2009,<br />"[Washington D.C.'s] rates are higher than West Africa... they're on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya." Hader once led the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work in Zimbabwe.<br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/14/AR2009031402176.html<br /><br />80% in the US never prevented HIV. But it's suddenly going to start working miracles in Africa? Really? Something's WRONG.Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190648498809795551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-17339406293814017112012-02-27T10:33:02.680+03:002012-02-27T10:33:02.680+03:00They want to circumcise 80% of the men to see the ...They want to circumcise 80% of the men to see the said "effect."<br /><br />But let's buy into this for a minute. Let's assume for a second that that 60% were absolute.<br /><br />The next question is, what about countries where circumcision is already close to universal, but where this 60/40 ratio fails to manifest?<br /><br />Data from six African countries shows that HIV is more prevalent among the CIRCUMCISED in those countries.<br /><br />I'm quite sure you know about Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda and Swaziland. (And yet they want to circumcise everybody there!)<br /><br />But the 60% number fails to correlate in other countries as well.<br /><br /><br />According to Malaysian AIDS Council vice-president Datuk Zaman Khan, more than 70% of the 87,710 HIV/AIDS sufferers in the country are Muslims. In Malaysia, most, if not all Muslim men are circumcised, whereas circumcision is uncommon in the non-Muslim community. 60% of the Malaysian population is Muslim, which means that HIV is spreading in the community where most men are circumcised at an even faster rate, than in the community where most men are intact.<br />http://www.mmail.com.my/content/39272-72-percent-aidshiv-sufferers-malaysia-are-muslims-says-council<br /><br />In the Philippines, the majority of the male population is circumcised, as it is seen as an important rite of passage. In the 2010 Global AIDS report released by UNAIDS in late November, the Philippines was one of seven nations in the world which reported over 25 percent in new HIV infections between 2001 and 2009, whereas other countries have either stabilized or shown significant declines in the rate of new infections. Among all countries in Asia, only the Philippines and Bangladesh are reporting increases in HIV cases, with others either stable or decreasing.<br />http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20110102-312124/Philippines-HIVAIDS-problem-worries-UNJosephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190648498809795551noreply@blogger.com