UN health agencies recommended yesterday that heterosexual men undergo circumcision because of "compelling" evidence that it can reduce their chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent.
But WHO and UNAIDS experts said men must be aware that circumcision is only partial protection against the virus and must be used with other measures.
"We must be clear," said Catherine Hankins, of UNAIDS. "Male circumcision does not provide complete protection against HIV."
Men and women who consider male circumcision as an HIV preventive method must continue to use other forms of protection such as male and female condoms, abstinence, delaying the start of sexual activity and reducing the number of sexual partners, she said.
Otherwise, they could develop a false sense of security and engage in high-risk behavior that could undermine the partial protection provided by male circumcision, the agencies said.
Men also should be warned that they are at a higher risk of being infected with HIV if they resume sex before their wound has healed. Likewise, an HIV-positive man can more easily pass on the disease if the wound is still unhealed.
The recommendations were based on a meeting earlier this month in Montreux, Switzerland, where experts discussed three trials -- in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa -- that produced "strong evidence" of the risk reduction resulting from heterosexual male circumcision.
"Based on the evidence presented, which was considered to be compelling, experts attending the consultation recommended that male circumcision now be recognized as an additional important intervention to reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men," a statement said.
Much depends on the situation in a given country, and little general benefit will result in countries where the HIV epidemic is concentrated among sex workers, injecting drug users or men who have sex with men, the agencies said.
The public health impact is likely to be most rapid where there is a high rate of HIV infection among men having sex with women.
"It was therefore recommended that countries with high prevalence, generalized heterosexual HIV epidemics that currently have low rates of male circumcision consider urgently scaling up access to male circumcision services," the agencies said.
Studies say 5.7 million new cases of HIV infection and 3 million deaths could be prevented by male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa.
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