A new study by the University of Illinois indicates that circumcised men do not only lower chances of getting HIV by 60% but also are less likely to engage in unprotected sex. Also health statistics from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre indicate that over 330,000 people in Rwanda have undergone male circumcision as an HIV/Aids prevention strategy between 2010 to June this year. The seemingly good news about HIV treatment pills used to prevent infection in people at high risk of getting the Aids Virus, shows that it does not encourage risky sex and remains effective even when people skip doses according to a research conducted at the International Aids conference in Melbourne in a study that involved 1,600 gay men and transgender women. While deadly infections continue to puzzle health experts around the globe, Rwandans should not worry about the recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the neighbouring DR Congo, an official from the Ministry of Health said last week. These remarks followed reports indicating suspected cases of the virus in northeastern DR Congo in the Aru territory in Ituri District, Orientale Province near the border of Uganda to the East and South Sudan to the north. In fact the World Health Organisation and several aid organisations are calling this the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, since the discovery of the virus in 1976. Not to take any chances, the health ministry has already trained 32 health personnel on Ebola preparedness and response, and that there is an operational rapid response team composed of clinicians, laboratory specialists, and epidemiologists.
