Ritual circumcision is a different area but its practice in South Africa, for example, has important ramifications for the promotion of circumcision as an HIV/AIDS prophylactic.

This story was in the news this week:

Eight boys have died and three are in hospital after botched circumcisions in the South African province of Mpumalanga, officials say. The teenagers were at an initiation school in the town of Kwamhlanga. One of the initiates died in hospital and the seven others were found by health officials dead at the school.

Yesterday saw the release of the paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine containing the hotly awaited data concerning the HIV vaccine trial that took place in Thailand. There was already some discussion of the initial results, which were reported in September and discussed by Colin and Martin. As has already been discussed, there is a very cautious consensus due to the statistical analysis of the trial only *just* falling on the side of significant.

This is a guest post by British doctor DeeTee. See more by DeeTee here.

The Myspace picture albums seem to capture a wonderful moment in time. The scene is idyllic. Sun-kissed palm trees are set against an azure Caribbean sky, and a happy couple delight in their holiday trip to the Florida Keys. Elsewhere, we can see photos of them with their children, a wholesome, all-American family enjoying everything life has to offer and dreaming of good times yet to come. But despite the glowing vitality that is projected in the photos, things are not what they seem. The woman you see is Karri Stokely, a 43 year old who was diagnosed with HIV infection when she was 29 years old. She is keen to share her story, and does so on several other websites and blogs. It should be a story of courage and hope, but I fear it will not turn out that way. For Karri has decided to completely ignore medical advice and forgo her HIV medication.

This is a guest post by British doctor DeeTee. See more by DeeTee here.

Sometimes I really wonder what planet the homeopaths live on. Recently the World Health Organisation responded to the concerns about the use of homeopathy in the developing world for serious diseases such as AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and infant diarrhoea, all of which are diseases with a massive morbidity and mortality, and all of which can be treated with effective conventional medical therapies. I have pointed out this silliness previously.