Researchers are calling for measures to discourage premature resumption of sex by newly-circumcised men after a study in Nyanza province found out that 31 per cent of men had not followed the recommended 42-day abstinence period. The researchers said resumption of sex before the wound heals could increase the risk of HIV contraction since it facilitates the transmission of the virus.
Researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago, US and the Nyanza Reproductive Health Society and Impact Research and Development Organisation, also found out that men living with HIV have higher chances of infecting their partners if they do not follow the advice. “These findings highlight the need for innovative strategies to encourage men who seek VMMC services, and who are already involved in a sexual relationship, to abstain from sexual activity during the post-VMMC healing time,” says Amy Herman-Roloff, the principal investigator of the study. The research was part of the Male Circumcision Monitoring and Evaluation Study, funded by the Male Circumcision Consortium. The researchers analysed data on 1,343 men of 18 years and above.
