The most controversial portion of the Hasidic Jewish circumcision tradition has caused two infants in New York City's Orthodox Jewish community to become infected with Type 1 herpes. The New York City Department of Health said that one of the infected infants suffered a fever and a lesion on its scrotum one week after the circumcision.
None of the infants' parents signed the required written consent form issued by the New York City Board of Health. The form was implemented last year after two children died after contracting herpes as a result of the traditional circumcision ritual. The consent form warns parents of the risks involved in the 5,000-year-old Jewish religious practice. In a portion of the ceremony called "metzitzah b'peh," the practitioner or "mohel" cleanses the infant's circumcision wound by placing his mouth around its genitals to suck the blood away. In the modern Jewish community, a sterile suction device is used to clean the infant's wound.
Among the general population, it's estimated that 70 percent of people are infected with Type 1 herpes I (HSV-1), which is transferred by mouth. In the cases of the infants, it was transferred during the Hasidic circumcision ritual. This is not to be confused with the sexually transmitted disease, Type 2 genital herpes.
"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," Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Jay Varma said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, herpes infections in infants can result in disability or fatality. There have been a reported 13 cases of herpes connected to the Jewish traditional ritual since 2000. Two infants suffered brain damage and two died. As reported by ABC News, it's "too early to tell" if the two recently infected infants will have long-term effects as a result of the herpes infection, according to Varma.
