MEDLINE Abstract: A prospective observational study of 176 men coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) was conducted to assess whether their sexual partners may be at an increased risk of HSV-2 from male circumcision (MC) wounds. Preoperative and weekly penile lavage samples were tested for penile HSV-2 shedding. Prevalence risk ratios (PRRs) were estimated using Poisson regression. Detectable penile HSV-2 shedding was present in 9.7% of men (17 of 176) before MC, compared with 12.9% (22 of 170) at 1 week (PRR, 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], .74-2.38) and 14.8% (23 of 155) at 2 weeks (PRR, 1.50; 95% CI, .86-2.62) after MC. HSV-2 shedding was lower among men with healed MC wounds (adjusted PRR, 0.62; 95% CI, .35-1.08). Men undergoing MC should be counseled on sexual abstinence and condom use. <BR>Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.<BR>
