U.S. Campaign To Promote Circumcision Would Be 'Premature,' Time Is Right For Dialogue On Issue, Letter To Editor Says

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Men's health;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 16 Apr 2007 - 7:00 PDT

Current ratings for:
'U.S. Campaign To Promote Circumcision Would Be 'Premature,' Time Is Right For Dialogue On Issue, Letter To Editor Says'

Patient / Public:5 stars

5 (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:not yet rated


The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene "has not planned, developed or announced a campaign to encourage at-risk men to get circumcised," but the department is "encouraging people to discuss and study this issue," city Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden writes in a New York Times letter to the editor (Frieden, New York Times, 4/12). UNAIDS and the World Health Organization last month recommended the procedure as a way to help reduce the spread of HIV in response to growing evidence that routine male circumcision could reduce a man's risk of contracting HIV through heterosexual sex. According to final data from two NIH-funded studies conducted in Uganda and Kenya published in the Feb. 23 issue of the journal Lancet, routine male circumcision could reduce a man's risk of HIV infection through heterosexual sex by 65%. The New York City health department has begun asking community organizations and gay advocacy groups to discuss male circumcision with members and has requested that the Health and Hospitals Corporation, which runs hospitals and clinics in the city, provide circumcisions at no cost for men who lack health insurance. The administration of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it has not decided if it will pursue the campaign (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/6). "Because circumcision has the potential to decrease HIV transmission by more than half," the health department hopes that men who want to receive the procedure "will have access to it," Frieden writes. A campaign to promote circumcision in the U.S. would be "premature without stronger evidence, but the time is right for a communitywide dialogue," he concludes (New York Times, 4/12).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
Visit our hiv / aids section for the latest news on this subject.
There are no references listed for this article.
Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA
n.p. "U.S. Campaign To Promote Circumcision Would Be 'Premature,' Time Is Right For Dialogue On Issue, Letter To Editor Says." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 16 Apr. 2007. Web.
26 May. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/67676.php>

APA
n.p. (2007, April 16). "U.S. Campaign To Promote Circumcision Would Be 'Premature,' Time Is Right For Dialogue On Issue, Letter To Editor Says." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/67676.php.

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.



Add Your Opinion On This Article

'U.S. Campaign To Promote Circumcision Would Be 'Premature,' Time Is Right For Dialogue On Issue, Letter To Editor Says'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Your Name:*
E-mail Address:*
Your Opinion Title:*
Opinion:*
This is to help prevent SPAM submissions. Please enter the words exactly as they appear, including capital letters and punctuation.*

* Fields marked with a * need to be filled in before you hit the submit button.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.


HIV / AIDS

What Is AIDS? What Is HIV?

AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease caused by a virus called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). Read more...

Most Popular Articles



Follow Our HIV News On Twitter

Follow Us On Twitter
Get the latest news for this category delivered straight to your Twitter account. Simply visit our HIV / AIDS Twitter account and select the 'follow' option.



View list of all 'What Is...' articles »