Bertran Auvert

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Bertran Auvert
Associates with:
Gilgal Society
Member of:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Colleagues & Benefactors:
Ronald H. Gray
Stephen Moses
Robert C. Bailey
Brian J. Morris
Bill Gates
Bill gates visit.jpg
Bill Gates, Bertran Auvert,
Dirk Taljaard, Cynthia Nhlapo

Bertran Auvert is a biased pro-circumcision researcher of French origin who has been a circumcision proponent since at least 2003.[1] Auvert was responsible for the first (2005) of the three discredited African circumcision trials,[2] which are still being used by the World Health Organization to promote circumcision as an HIV prevention method.[3] He associates with the Gilgal Society,[4] and is good friends with Bill Gates.[5]

Auvert's circumcision study

An RCT funded by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH)[6] was carried out in Orange Farm, South Africa under the supervision of Bertran Auvert.[2] The British medical journal The Lancet decided against publishing Bertran's study. Lancet officials, following standard policy at the journal, refused to comment on why the study was turned down.[7]

In a Medscape interview, Bertran was asked, "in the group of men who were circumcised, I understand from the presentation that they were advised not to engage in sexual relations for approximately 5 weeks in order to recovery from the surgery. Is that correct?" Bertran replied, "Yes. We were very careful to recommend them to abstain from sex for 44 days, which is about 6 weeks after the surgical procedure, in order that they didn't have any risk of getting infected by HIV during this healing period."[8] Later in the interview he says "We also have 2 ongoing trials in Uganda and Kenya." (Notice the word "We" here.)

Boyle & Hill (2011) have shown these coordinated RCTs to be have significant methodological flaws and statistical errors that render their claims invalid. Although a 60 percent relative reduction in HIV was claimed, the absolute reduction was a statistically insignificant 1.3 percent.[9]

Population-based studies

September 2021 saw the publication of two huge population studies on the relationship of circumcision and HIV infection:

  1. Mayan et al. (2021) carried out a massive empirical study of the male population of the province of Ontario, Canada (569,950 males), of whom 203,588 (35.7%) were circumcised between 1991 and 2017. The study concluded that circumcision status is not related to risk of HIV infection.[10]
  2. Morten Frisch & Jacob Simonsen (2021) carried out a large scale empirical population study in Denmark of 855,654 males regarding the alleged value of male circumcision in preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in men. They found that circumcised men have a higher rate of STI and HIV infection overall than intact men.[11]

No association between lack of circumcision and risk of HIV infection was found by either study. There now is credible evidence that the massive, expensive African circumcision programs have not been effective in preventing HIV infection.

Publications

Bill Gates

Bertran Auvert, is so modest about his work, but he has new theories that we're putting money behind and he is just making it work.
– Bill Gates: Discussing Bertran's Circumcision "Studies" (Newsweek)[5]

See also

External links

References

  1. REFjournal Rain-Taljaard RC, Lagarde E, Taljaard DJ, Campbell C, MacPhail C, Williams B, Auvert B. Potential for an intervention based on male circumcision in a South African town with high levels of HIV infection. Aids Care. 15(3): 315-327.
  2. a b REFjournal Auvert B, Taljaard D, Lagarde E, Sobngwi-Tambekou J, Sitta R, Puren A. Randomized, Controlled Intervention Trial of Male Circumcision for Reduction of HIV Infection Risk: The ANRS 1265 Trial. PLoS Med. 25 October 2005; 2(11): e298. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  3. REFweb World Health Oranization. WHO Male circumcision for HIV prevention. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  4. REFweb Morris, Brian (2007). Sex and Circumcision What every Woman needs to know Icons-mini-file pdf.svg, The Gilgal Society. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  5. a b REFweb Lyons, Daniel (25 January 2010). Saving The World, 2.0, Newsweek, Harman Newsweek LLC. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  6. REFnews (2008)."The Use of Male Circumcision to Prevent HIV Infection", Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.). Retrieved 5 March 2011.
    Quote: ...funding from the United States National Institutes of Health to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in Africa.
  7. REFnews Schoofs, M. / S Lueck / M.M. Phillips (5 July 2005)."Study says circumcision reduces AIDS risk by 70%".
  8. REFweb Medscape (29 July 2005). Randomized Clinical Trial Shows Male Circumcision Has Great Potential to Curb HIV Infections in Africa, Medscape. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  9. REFjournal Boyle GJ, Hill G. Sub-Saharan African randomised clinical trials into male circumcision and HIV transmission: Methodological, ethical and legal concerns PDF. Thompson Reuter. December 2011; 19(2): 316-34. PMID. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  10. REFjournal Mayan M, Hamilton RJ, Juurlink DN, Austin PC, Jarvi KA. Circumcision and Risk of HIV Among Males From Ontario, Canada. J Urol. 23 September 2021; PMID. DOI. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
    Quote: We found that circumcision was not independently associated with the risk of acquiring HIV among men from Ontario, Canada.
  11. REFjournal Frisch M, Simonsen J. Non-therapeutic male circumcision in infancy or childhood and risk of human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections: national cohort study in Denmark. Eur J Epidemiol. 26 September 2021; 37: 251–9. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 16 January 2022.