Circumcision As Effective As a Vaccine?

Circumcising men reduces their risks of HIV infection'and the possibility they'd pass the virus on to others'by a rate similar to that of a highly effective vaccine, researchers say. A new study of nearly 3,300 men in South Africa shows circumcision slashes HIV risks by 61%, and health advocates say the procedure could be an effective tool in slowing the spread of HIV in poor nations, particularly in AIDS-ravaged sub-Saharan Africa. Uncircumcised men are believed to be at a higher risk of HIV infection because sexual fluids that can contain HIV may remain trapped under the foreskin and placed in prolonged contact with cells vulnerable to infection.