VMMC associated with lower HIV rates among women

Young women (ages 15 to 29) in a South African community who had sex only with circumcised men had a 20 percent lower rate of new HIV infections compared to women who had some or only circumcised partners, the International AIDS Society reports. Among women ages 15 to 49, the HIV incidence was almost 17 percent lower among those who had sex only with circumcised men. This study, which was presented at the AIDS 2014 conference on 25 July 2014, modelled HIV incidence among 4,538 women in the community of Orange Farm. It was the first to show an association between roll out of voluntary medical male circumcision and reductions in new HIV infections among women (IAS, 28 July 2014).