Valiere Alcena
Valiere Alcena, (born 24 August 1934, Haiti)[1], M.D.[a 1], P.C., M.A.C.P., a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is a practicing physician, medical scholar, medical educator, author, TV producer and host. He has published several books and made several discoveries. In August 1986, Dr. Valiere Alcena was the first physician in the world to be credited as the physician who originated the idea that male circumcision would decrease the incidence of HIV/AIDS,[2] although he had no evidence to support his speculation.
He repeated this idea in two books that were published in 1992, The Status of Health of Blacks in the United States of America: A Perspective for Improvemenn and The African American Health Book and again in "AIDS: The Expanding Epidemic: What the Public Needs to Know: A Multi-Cultural Overview", published in 1994.[3]
In 1986, California urologist Aaron J. Fink, (1926 – 1994) adopted this idea,[4] and vehemently promoted it,[5] without any kind of proof whatsoever.
| “ | AIDS in third world countries It is my opinion that because the maof men from Central Africa and Haiti are not circumcised, they constantly develop balanitis as a result of the heat and other problems, leading to breakage of the skin. This leads to chronic infections such as phimosis and paraphimosis. ln this setting, there is frequent mini-ulceration of the foreskin of the penis. This represents an easy portal of entry for the virus during coitus with, let us say, an infected prostitute. Another possibility arises because the women in that part of the world do not shave the pubis. Thus there is the possibility of mini-lacerations occurring during coitus as the foreskin comes into contact with pubic hair. This is another possible portal of entry for the virus. This, to me, seems a more plausible explanation for female-to-male transmission in Central Africa and Haiti. – Valiere Alcena[6] |
Contents
Population-based studies
September 2021 saw the publication of two huge population studies on the relationship of circumcision and HIV infection:
- 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.[7]
- 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.[8]
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.
See also
- Bias -- Learn about pro-circumcision bias.
- Religion and Culture -- Learn how religion and culture effects ones views on circumcision.
- Aaron J. Fink
- Edgar J. Schoen -- Veteran pro-circumcision advocate.
- Thomas E. Wiswell -- Veteran pro-circumcision advocate.
Abbreviations
- ↑
Doctor of Medicine
, Wikipedia. Retrieved 14 June 2021. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries, the abbreviation MD is common.
References
- ↑
Alcena, Valiere 1934-
, encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020. - ↑
Alcena V. AIDS in Third World Countries. PLoS Medicine. October 2006; : [online]. DOI.
- ↑ Alcena V. Letter to Infectious Disease News. Infectious Disease News. March 2007; : [online].
- ↑
Glick LB (2005):
, in: Marked in Your Flesh. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. P. 206. ISBN 0-19-517674-X. Retrieved 19 February 2011.This Little Operation
, Jewish American Physicians and Twentieth-Century Circumcision Advocacy
Quote:What if circumcision protected against infection with HIV...
- ↑ Weiss HA, Quigley MA, Hayes RJ. Male circumcision and risk of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS. October 2000; 14(15): 2361-2370. PMID. DOI.
- ↑ AIDS IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES by Valiere Alcena, August 1986
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
