BEIJING, July 28 -- Male circumcision significantly reduces the chances of female-to-male transmission of the AIDS virus, according to a new study French researchers announced Tuesday.

    The study, conducted in South Africa, found that circumcision reduced the risk of men contracting AIDS during heterosexual intercourse by about 65 percent.

    ¡°There had always been a suspicion that male circumcision prevented AIDS, but this is the first randomized study using control trials,¡± said Dr. Bertrand Auvert, who coordinated the study for France¡¯s National AIDS Research Agency.

    The study was conducted between 2002 and 2005 with more than 3,000 healthy, sexually active males between 18 and 24 in Orange Farm, South Africa, where about 32 percent of the female population was HIV positive.

    For the study, about half of the subjects were circumcised by medical professionals, and the rest remained uncircumcised.

    All of the men received counseling on AIDS prevention. But after 21 months, 51 members of the uncircumcised group had contracted HIV, the AIDS virus, while only 18 members of the circumcised group had gotten the disease.

    ¡°Circumcision prevented six to seven out of 10 potential HIV infections,¡± said Auvert.

    He said the study did not analyze the effect of circumcision on male-to-female transmission or if circumcision provides effective protection over the long term.

    Dr. Charles Gilks, of the World Health Organization, said he was concerned that the results of the study would lead many circumcised men to think they were protected from AIDS and fail to take adequate precautions.Enditem

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)