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Researchers will study a bloodless
circumcision device for adult males in at least nine African nations next year,
according to reports.
A large study already has
established that the device, PrePex, is safer than conventional circumcision
surgery. The US Food and Drug Administration approved PrePex in January, and
the World Health Organization’s approval is expected soon. The new research
will evaluate its acceptability to men in each of the study nations and whether
there are any regulatory challenges, according to Dr. Jason B. Reed, a
technical adviser to the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR).
To slow the spread of HIV on the
continent, health authorities hope to circumcise 20 million men in Africa by
2015.
No surgeon is required to perform
circumcision using PrePex. Working together, two nurses slide a grooved ring
inside the patient’s foreskin, then guide a rubber band to compress the skin
into the groove. A week later, the dead skin falls off or can be clipped off
painlessly, said PrePex CEO Tzameret Fuerst.
PEPFAR will pay for 2,500 men to be
circumcised with PrePex in Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Similar studies in Kenya, Mozambique,
South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe - funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation - also will test the Shang Ring, a circumcision device that requires
some surgery and an anesthetic injection.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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