Circumcision in boys could cut HIV risk, say experts

Melbourne, Sept 20 (ANI): Experts are supporting the theory that circumcision in boys could cut HIV risk significantly.

"A wealth of research has shown that the foreskin is the entry point that allows HIV to infect men during intercourse with an infected female partner," News.com.au quoted them as writing.

"Soon after the HIV pandemic was first recognised, much lower HIV prevalence was found in areas of sub-Saharan Africa where more than 80 per cent of males had been circumcised," they wrote.

However, circumcising poses a problem for parents who can't afford to pay for the operation since the Medicare rebate had also been eroded.

"All states and territories should allow this operation to be carried out in the public hospital system," said Sydney physician Alex Wodak.

"We should be trying nationally to get back to where we were in the 1950s and 60s where the majority of infant males were circumcised," he said.

The study is published in the Medical Journal of Australia. (ANI)