Mohel Jewish Ritual Of Circumcision Is Spreading Disease And Killing Babies.

ExposeTheNOSE
Published on Jan 2, 2021
After the deaths of two children who contracted the herpes virus through an ultra-orthodox practice of circumcision, the New York City Board of Health voted today to require parents to sign a written consent that warns them of the dangers

In the most controversial part of the ritual, known as 'metzitzah b'peh', the practitioner, or mohel, places his mouth around the baby's penis to suck the blood to 'cleanse' the wound.

The main virus that worries the city is oral herpes, which is present in some 70 per cent of the city's adult population and can cause fatal infections in babies. Highly contagious, it is spread through contact with infected saliva, even by sharing drinks or towels.

The health board wants parents to be aware of the risk of herpes transmission when a circumcision procedure, or bris, includes direct oral contact.

In 2003 and 2004, three babies, including a set of twins, were infected with Type 1 herpes; the cases were linked to circumcision, and one boy died. Another died in 2010.

In the last decade, 11 babies in the city have contracted the virus, and two have suffered brain damage, according to health officials.

Dr Jay K Varma, the New York City deputy commissioner for disease control, told the New York Times, 'There is no safe way to perform oral suction on an open wound in a newborn.'

But some rabbis have said that they will oppose the law on religious grounds, insisting it has been performed 'tens of thousands of times a year' worldwide. They say safeguarding the life of a child is one of the religion's highest principles.

About two-thirds of boys born in New York City's Hasidic communities are circumcised in the oral suction manner, according to Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel of America.

The Department of Health argues parents should be informed of the risks before making a decision. Since 2004, it has received 'multiple complaints from parents who were not aware that direct oral suction was going to be performed as part of their sons' circumcisions,' according to a public notice.