By Jimmy Downs

Thursday Dec 13, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Human papillomavirus is less likely to spread through men who were circumcised, according to a review of many studies published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.   Male circumcision (MC) has been claimed to reduce HIV infection in other studies.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main cause of invasive cervical cancer and one of preventative measure, according to the medical circle, is HPV vaccine like Gardasil.  The review article suggests though that in countries where HPV vaccine is unavailable, male circumcision may play a key role in reducing the prevalence of this sexually transmitted disease.

Ginesa Albero, MPH and colleagues conducted the systematic review of 21 studies of 8046 circumcised and 6336 uncircumcised men, which were published from Feb 1971 through Aug 2010 and found male circumcision was associated with 43% reduced genital HPV prevalence.

Genital high risk HPV prevalence was reduced by 33% because of male circumcision in two randomized controlled trials.

However, genital HPV acquisition of new infections, genital HPV clearance and genital warts were not associated with male circumcision.

The researchers concluded "This meta-analysis shows a robust inverse association between MC (male circumcision) and genital HPV prevalence in men. However, more studies are needed to adequately assess the effect of MC on the acquisition and clearance of HPV infections."

"MC (male circumcision) could be considered as an additional one-time preventative intervention likely to reduce the burden of HPV-related diseases both in men and women, particularly among those countries in which HPV vaccination programs and cervical screening are not available."

It should be noted that the mortality from cervical cancer which is mainly induced by human papillomavirus is fairly.  One should be more worried about death risk from high traffic death than this rare disease.

Human papillomavirus can be cleared in human men and women in one year or two of infection without any prevention or treatment and drug companies can't guarantee that HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer 100% effectively.  For that reason, it is recommended that women who have received the vaccine undergo the routine Pap smear test as recommended by their physicians.

Also because there are other more serious sexually transmitted diseases out there like HIV, men and women who have multiple sexual partners need to take measures like condoms during sex to protect themselves.   So even if you  have received HPV vaccine shots (three shots are required and they can cost about $140 per shot), you still need to use protection against other sexually transmitted diseases.  That is, for those who use protection during sex, HPV vaccine does not provide any benefits because the first line of protection comes from the protective measures.

Keeping healthy immunity is key when it comes to HOV clearance.  Vitamin C, vitamin D and other nutrients that help maintain immunity against viruses and viral diseases should be used as regularly as possible.