AP - Even though AIDS continues to spread through sub-Saharan Africa, the pernicious custom of the village "cleanser" persists in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Malawi, and other countries. When a husband dies, the widow traditionally must break the marital bond by soon having sex again, lest the entire village be spiritually condemned. The preferred partner is a relative of the husband, but if none is available, the village leader calls on a professional "cleanser" who performs the task in exchange for a chicken or other renumeration. According to a May New York Times dispatch from Malawi, cleansers believe that wearing a condom will provoke other bad spirits.

Never bet against Darwin. Ever.

I once had a job like that (pre-herpes, that goodness). All I asked was a pizza and a six-pack.

I have an ex-military doctor friend who for 10 years from about 1985 to 1995 ran the AIDS research for the DOD at Bethesda (I think). He still gets enraged at the senseless loss of life from a disease that is almost totally preventable by simply putting your part only where it belongs. But... the leaders of the African countries can't very well preach personal responsibility if they don't practice it themselves.

What's that old saying "Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder"...
Peter.

Well, as long as he is circumcised.

Funny thing, I just heard on the radio (Rush Limbaugh) that studies are showing you are 70% less likely to get AIDs if you are circumcised. Apparently this is from field studies in Africa. I have no idea how common circumcision is there, but it's pretty strange anyway.

At the risk of sounding more ignorant than I do,the whole thing has me nervous..As some may know I'm retired from my main job due to health but still do a lot of sheet metal,therefore my hands are like hamburg..I think I'll be refusing jobs untill I get back from SA. give my hands a few weeks to heal before I go.

quote:

Funny thing, I just heard on the radio (Rush Limbaugh) that studies are showing you are 70% less likely to get AIDs if you are circumcised. Apparently this is from field studies in Africa. I have no idea how common circumcision is there, but it's pretty strange anyway.

Are you living behind the moon? It's a well known fact since years.

HUNTING ONE HOUR FROM CAPE TOWN
http://www.kapstadt.de/lemberg

Circumcised men less likely to get AIDS
26 Mar 2004

Men who are circumcised have a lower chance of being infected with the virus that causes AIDS than men who are not. This is not due to any behaviour differences, it is due to biological reasons. This is according to scientists at John Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Circumcised men are 6-8 times less likely to become HIV positive. People have never agreed on why this is so. Some said that it is because of behaviour differences. These scientists may have ended that controversy.

According to the scientists in this new study, if you are circumcised you will have more protection from HIV, but not other sexually transmitted infections. Risk rates for syphilis and gonorrhoea are the same.

You can read about this new study in The Lancet.

Dr. Robert Bollinger, lead researcher said "The specificity of this relation suggests a biological rather than behavioral explanation for the protective effect of male circumcision against HIV."

How common circumcision is depends on which part of the world. It is more common in the USA than other Christian countries, in India it is uncommon. Usually, circumcision is done for religious and cultural reasons.

Bollinger studied 2,298 men in India from 1993 to 2000. They were all attending STD clinics, none of them were HIV positive at the beginning of the study. They were regularly monitored to see whether they had developed HIV.

Bollinger said "These data confirm previous findings that male circumcision reduces the risk of HIV acquisition."

Bollinger says that as circumcision did not stop the men from catching other STIs (sexually transmitted infections), his study demonstrates the theory that protection from HIV is due to the removal of the foreskin. He says the foreskin contains cells that have HIV receptors. He suspects these receptors are the primary entry points for the virus into the penis.

Bollinger and his team would like to carry out clinical trials to see how effective and safe circumcision is as a tool against AIDS.