Two more infants have contracted herpes after taking part in a ritualistic circumcision performed by New York City’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
The unidentified male infants contracted the virus after the Jewish ritual metzitzah b'peh was performed. During the circumcision, the mohel, or practitioner performing the circumcision, “places his mouth around the baby's penis to suck the blood to ‘cleanse’ the wound,” ABC News reported yesterday.
One of the two infected babies developed a fever and lesion on its scrotum seven days after the circumcision, and tests for HSV-1 were positive, according to the health department.
There has been a policy in place since last year by the New York City Board of Health whereby parents are required to sign a written consent warning them of the risks of the metzitzah b'peh ritual.
But the parents of the two babies recently infected had not signed any consent forms, said Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Orthodox Jewish groups unsuccessfully sued New York City to try to block the rule requiring parental consent for the circumcision ritual. The lawsuit claimed that the regulation was unconstitutional and violated religious freedom by targeting a Jewish ritual.
The Daily Mail reported yesterday that 13 known cases of herpes being contracted after metzitzah b'peh have been recorded since 2000.
The New York City Department of Health reports that there is “no safe way to perform the ritual that dates back more than 5,000 years.”
Two infant deaths and two babies suffering brain damage have also been attributed to the practice.
Jay Varma also explained:
"A herpes infection in a newborn baby has the risk of leading to severe illness and death."
"The reason is that the baby doesn't have the same fully developed immune system as an adult. Instead of staying in the genital area, it extends throughout different organs in the body."
For more on the Orthodox Jews’ lawsuit against New York City to block the rule requiring parental consent for the circumcision ritual, see the video accompanying this article.
Also see:
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