Although the Muslims male circumcision is something that is mandatory, but the debate about the benefits of circumcision has been going on for a long time among doctors in developed countries.
However, now the doctors in the United States agreed to the conclusion that the benefits of circumcision is much greater than the risks. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) even issued guidelines regarding circumcision. This is the first time the US government released a report on circumcision.
The CDC also said that circumcision can reduce a man's risk of sexually transmitted diseases, such as cancer of the penis and even urinary tract infections. This procedure is done because germs can grow under the foreskin.
The new guidelines were issued after the experts conducted a study for seven years, including a group of studies in Africa showed that circumcision can help stop the spread of the AIDS virus.
"The benefits of male circumcision more and more apparent over the last ten years," said Dr. Aaron Tobian, a researcher from Johns Hopkins University who was involved in one of the studies in Africa.
In the United States, circumcision is performed once a baby boy was born. In the new guidelines, the CDC said that some of the benefits of circumcision, among others:
- Reduce the risk of men contracting HIV from an infected female partner between 50 to 60 percent.
- Reduce the risk of genital herpes and certain strains of the human papillomavirus as much as 30 percent or more.
- Reduce the possibility of urinary tract infections in infancy and penile cancer in adulthood.
However, studies have not shown that circumcision can reduce the risk of HIV-infected men to spread the virus to their partner. In addition, circumcision nor stop the spread of HIV in the same-sex.
The CDC also recommends doctors to notify parents of a baby boy on the benefits and risks of circumcision, but does not specify how the information should be presented.
Because circumcision can be beneficial for men, the CDC said, circumcision procedure information should also be given to men who sexually active but not circumcised, especially men who are considered at higher risk of contracting HIV
