An article in Advocates of Youth that compares data between Europe and the United States.

In France, Germany, and the Netherlands, two things create greater, easier access to sexual health information and services for all people, including teens. They are: 1) societal openness and comfort in dealing with sexuality, including teen sexuality; and 2) pragmatic governmental policies. The result - better sexual health outcomes for French, German, and Dutch teens when compared to U.S. teens.

A study published Sexually Transmitted Infections, doi:10.1136/sti.2010.042895, determined that there was no association between circumcision and HIV for men having sex with men. The researchers concluded that circumcision is unlikely to be a feasible HIV prevention strategy for gay men in the UK.

This study supports other studies that found no link between circumcision status and HIV infection rates among homosexual men.

CATIE-News: Bite-sized HIV/AIDS news bulletins published by Canadian AIDS Treatement Information Exchange. The page addresses many of the current studies and meta-analysis for HIV and the gay man. The results of the various studies and meta-analysis are consistent and show that there is little to no benefit in circumcising gay men to reduce HIV.

Researchers studying the increase and spread of HIV have concluded in several studies that increases in high-risk sex have overwhelmed any decrease in infectivity due to HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy). This does not mean that current HIV prevention efforts have failedwithout these efforts, rates of new cases of HIV and STIs might be much higher. This environment of high-risk sex and STIs must be taken into account when considering the potential impact and rollout of new prevention interventions--such as male circumcision, microbicides or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)--in gay and bisexual men in high-income countries.

Study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2009; 200:000–000. DOI: 10.1086/648376. The authors found a correlation of reduced incidence of syphilis among men who reported predominantly insertive unprotected anal intercourse.

Study published in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Vol. 34 Issue 2, Pages 160 - 164 (April 2010).  The study concluded that "Circumcision appears to have minimal protective effects on sexual health in Australia." Translated into English, "Circumcised men do not have any additional protection against sexually transmitted diseases."

Study published in The Lancet, Volume 374, Issue 9685, Pages 229 - 237, 18 July 2009. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60998-3.  The study assessed whether circumcision in HIV-infected men would reduce transmission of the virus to female sexual partners. Circumcision of HIV-infected men did not reduce HIV transmission to female partners over 24 months; longer-term effects could not be assessed. Condom use after male circumcision is essential for HIV prevention.  The results indicate that there is a probability of 21.7% HIV infection rate for female partners of circumcised HIV infected men, compared to 13.4% HIV infection rate for female partners of HIV infected men. Women with circumcised partners had more than a 50% increase in the infection rate of women compared to women with un-circumcised partners.

Study published in JAMA, 1997; 277(13): 1052-1057. The objective was to assess the prevalence of circumcision across various social groups and examine the health and sexual outcomes of circumcision. The authors analyzed the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) data to determine the effects of circumcision. The results indicate, "We find no significant differences between circumcised and uncircumcised men in their likelihood of contracting sexually transmitted diseases." 

The Daily Nation, a Kenyan news site, reports on September 26, 2009, that recent findings show an increase in HIV infection in regions where most males are circumcised.

Abstract presented at 3rd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Rio de Janeiro, July 24-27, 2005. The Abstract noted that female circumcision has shown a decrease in the rate of HIV infection.

Published in The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol. 125, No. 6, 259-265 (2005) (DOI: 10.1177/146642400512500607). The authors conclude, "Even if effective, mass circumcision as a preventive measure for HIV in developed countries is difficult to justify."

Paper from 16th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (2009).  A pdf file of the paper is available on the website.

Note published in The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 177, No. 1, 5 (March 2007), doi:10.1083/jcb.1771rr5, refers to de Witte* study in Nat. Med. doi:10.1038/nm1541. Further research shows that a suspected entry route for HIV is a dead end. Langerhans cells, rather than transmitting the virus to T cells, trap HIV-1 and thus act as a barrier to infection. The foreskin of the male penis has Langerhans cells, but they are removed, along with the foreskin, during circumcision.

Article in American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 39, Issue 5 , Pages 479-482, November 2010. The authors discuss the "external validity" of the three African randomized control trials that examined circumcision as a preventive measure for HIV infection. The nutshell version of this discussion is that clinical conditions that show promise do not necessarily translate into a real world net benefit.

The Male Circumcision and HIV blog presents current information on policy decisions and various actions by organizations that can affect policy.

A well-researched article by Michael Fumento describing the transmission vectors of AIDS, as backed up by statistics. The author notes that much dis-information is promulgated regarding heterosexual AIDS. Citing statistics, Fumento notes that there are few cases of heterosexual AIDS that withstand scrutiny.

Paper published in Sexual Health, 7(4) 463–470, November 2010. doi:10.1071/SH09080. The authors developed a mathematical model to simulate HIV propagation within a MSM population. Conclusions: "The results of these calculations suggest that circumcision as a public health intervention will not produce a substantial decrease in HIV prevalence or incidence among MSM in the near future, and only modest reductions are achievable in the long-term."

Study published in American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 136, No. 7: 895-907 (1992). The authors found that "a history of excision and BCG vaccinations decreased the risk of HIV-2 infection." That is, women who had undergone female genital cutting had reduced risk of HIV infection.

Study published in International Conference on AIDS, 15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16: abstract no. TuPeC4861. The Naval Health Research Center conducted a study of men assigned to aircraft carriers. The results showed that "lack of circumcision was not found to be a risk factor for HIV."

Conclusion: Male circumcision "is not associated with HIV or STI prevention in this U. S. military population."

A study published at PLoS ONE 2(6): e543. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000543. "This paper provides strong evidence that when conducted properly, cross country regression data does not support the theory that male circumcision is the key to slowing the AIDS epidemic. Rather, it is the number of infected prostitutes in a country that is highly significant and robust in explaining HIV prevalence levels across countries." The article received several critical comments, including one by Halperin. The article's author John R. Talbott provides a very good rebuttal attacking the Africa trials' statistical analysis methodology.