Condoms, yes; foreskins, no

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


In recent years fewer and fewer baby boys have had their privates snipped as more people come to regard the practice of circumcision as unnecessary at best, barbaric at worst. But epidemiological evidence that male circumcision lowers HIV infection risk could turn that trend around.

A story in SALON.COM reports that HIV transmission rates vary widely between African countries due to all kinds of reasons, including different strains of the disease, different rates of condom use and, apparently, different traditions regarding male circumcision. HIV infection rates are considerably lower in west Africa, where it’s traditional to circumcise, than in eastern and southern Africa, where it’s not. The same pattern holds in Asia: Both Thailand and the Philippines have an active sex trade, but Thailand’s HIV rate is much higher than that of the Philippines. Circumcision is traditional in the Philippines; in Thailand it is not.

It may be that the fragile foreskin itself is particularly vulnerable to infection. In one study looking at HIV negative men married to HIV positive women, after two and a half years 40 of 137 uncircumcised men had become infected. Of 50 circumcised men, not one was positive.

If true, it’s ominous news for China and India, where the population is largely uncircumcised and HIV infection is just getting started.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate