[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Paul B. at 10 Jul 2002 00:00:58: Not mine!
As an answer to: review written by glider at 09 Jul 2002 17:52:37:
>> The whole point of the study is to assess whether circumcision reduces the spread of HIV/ AIDS from females to males (noting that it has been validly postulated that it may well substantially increase transmission from males to females due to increased trauma during intercourse, something not addressed in this study, and under-reported in previous studies) ...
> This is a very important point, and one I haven't seen made elsewhere.
Fortunately or otherwise, I can claim no originality for the observation. {:-)}
> The complementary study - assessing whether circumcision increases male to female transmission - would seem more difficult to conduct, prospectively at any rate.
But unless it can be established prospectively, any link between circumcision and HIV transmission is worthless since (unlike the link between tobacco and cancer,) it is too weak a link to be proven otherwise, and that's why the Kenyan study is so important, albeit inadequate in this respect.