NEW YORK (JTA) — At least four infants have contracted herpes in New York City in the past six months after undergoing a circumcision rite in which the ritual circumciser, or mohel, cleans the circumcision wound by oral suction.
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Three cases of herpes have been reported since December and four since September from the rite called “metzitzah b’peh,” WPIX-11 reported, citing the city’s Health Department.
The infants were hospitalized, received intravenous antiviral drugs and are now recovering, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“The spread of neonatal herpes through ritual circumcision is a public health risk,” a Health Department official told WPIX. “To address this risk, we will continue to work with providers and families across our city to keep our youngest New Yorkers safe.”
Adults’ saliva can carry a type of herpes that causes minor symptoms in adults, but potentially serious symptoms in newborns. A herpes infection in a newborn baby can cause brain damage and death.
The custom is rarely practiced outside the haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, community. Other mohels use a sterile pipette for the practice.
It has been a political football in New York City with its large haredi population. In February 2015, the city eliminated a parental consent form mandated by former mayor Michael Bloomberg. The form was replaced with an educational brochure in 2015.
Six families in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, had children contract herpes between 2015 and mid-2017 from metzitzah b’peh. None of the families would give the name of the mohel to the Health Department.
At least 11 boys contracted herpes from the practice between 2004 and 2011. Two died and two suffered brain damage.
From a health & infant safety position this mohel should be reported to the health department. I as a physician am required to be tested regularly for communicable diseases. A mohel has the same obligation to his infant patient. I have no problem with metzitzah bal peh. I do however, have a problem with a mohel not being tested for a communicable disease and being a carrier & infecting an infant, and his not being reported to the proper authorities
FWIW, I’ve always insisted that the mohel for my sons choreograph the
bris so I be the person to quickly and b’tznius perform the metzitza.
I’m not sure even my wife knows this…
If memory serves correctly last time this stuff happened, we ended up finding out later on that it really was not the fault of the mohel.
Will these Jewish websites issue a public apology and ask for m’chila at that point? I’m not even sure something like that is possible at that point considering how our haters will pick up the news and run with it.
So primitive and ignorant.
Judith, our our chief resident commentator that goes against everything holy,
Pro yaffed
Against hatzolah
Against mesorah
Mr anonymous number 1. Can we get some evidence before we blame people?? Shameful what you just did. I guarantee you that the baby wasn’t infected from the mohel. I believe all mohelim are responsible people and make sure they’re not carrying any diseases. A baby can herpies from many sources
Was there proof that the herpes came from the mohel?
Not once in this whole discussion has there been any definitive proof that it’s from the mohel and not from the mother or other sources.
it’s time for a little more responsible articles!
The charge that Metzitzah B’peh is the cause of neonatal herpes simplex virus infection, has never been conclusively proven. In fact, the link is not as “scientifically” obvious as one may think.
An entirely plausible answer is that herpes can easily be transmitted by a caregiver or family member shedding the virus who had recently touched his or her mouth; since a recently circumcised baby is more vulnerable to infection at the circumcision site, and that babies tend to get diapered several times a day.
Is that a fact that it can only come from the Mohel?
Can it be that one of the parents or both are infected?
And even if the parents involved refuse to give the name of the Mohel, and I can understand them for that, but why shouldn’t a Bais Din such as CRC etc be informed (or they should ask on their own)? Then they could take action against such a Mohel assuming it is the same in all or most of the cases?
Where are our Rabbonim?
MBP is very important.
It’s brought down, that when Avrom did Millah on himself, he he was able to reach to do MBP Bderech Neis. And when Moshe did MBP on all the people his Aral S’fosaiyim got cured. So we see that it’s a big Inyan.
We have two boys and our mohel (a very famous mohel, you’d know his name instantly) didn’t use metzitza b’phe. Feel free to call me an apikoris but quite frankly, I believe it is a disgusting practice and a chilul Hashem. We are under fire enough for doing brisot milah but this makes us look like child molesters.
I understand that the Gemara talks about metziza b’peh but that Gemara was brought down in the 4th century, when it was very difficult to keep clean. BH today we have hot and cold running water, advanced appliance sterilization techniques, excellent laundry systems and all kinds of medications to use in the event there is bleeding after the bris. There is no reason for some mohel to touch the baby’s body, especially if the mohel’s cleanliness is suspect.
Does anyone know the incidence of herpes in babies that didn’t have a bris milah with a mohel?
Any guess as to the number of boys who has bris milah during the 6 month period? My guess is close to 2000.
What about banning toeiva behavior. That causes AIDS. I forgot it’s politically correct just as killing babies with abortions.
I am confused. How about we keep our scared tradion of metzzia bpeh but ask the mohel to test himself first? Is there somehting halchically wrong even those committed to keep to minhag and traditon?
Although I completely respect people’s choice to keep the MBP tradition I think it can be done without risking the health/life of a new born child.
What about the commandment of Shomer es nafshoseichem?
MBP can still be practiced but with safety measures put in place so no one is harmed.
I think those well meaning people who are protecting the identity of suspect Mohels do not have the right to put babies at risk.
As several posters mentioned there are many other ways a baby could contract herpes G-d forbid but it certainly does not negate the fact that a Mohel with herpes (even asymptomatic) definatley could (and even more so) transmit this disease-may G-d protect us.
I absolutely think it should be mandatory for every Mohel to be tested.
I understand that there are those who are concerned about compromising a Mohel’s parnasah but what if the same Mohel had measles? Would anyone be comfortable with that Mohel performing MBP? Dare I say because there is no vaccine (yet) for herpes it seems it’s not taken seriously.Yet the same threat of neo-natal encephalitis exists. Measles is also most of the time a benign pretty harmless (although very uncomforatable) disease with a small risk of severe complications. Once one contracts measles & gets over it (which happens is the vast majority of cases) they are immune for life while unfortunately with herpes it can flare up any time under stress etc (until a cure is found)..
What a bizarre, primitive and unhealthy practice under the guise of uber-frum. Maybe we should bring back animal sacrifice, slavery and throwing idol worshippers into the fire.
A bris millah is an open wound. Anyone changing the child’s diaper or bandage can potentially infect the child with herpes. For example, commonly eczema is super-infected with herpes. If someone changing the baby has eczema that is infected with herpes, he/she can pass that on to the baby.
COmmentators keep repeating the claim that “it was never proven” that any mohel has given a child herpes.
That is technically correct, but there is a big asterisk.
This is because no suspected mohel has ever cooperated with any investigation.
In some cases, the parents refused to name the mohel and, where the mohel was known, he refused to submit DNA under police supervision.
That’s why Agudah says “It was never proven.”
Correct.
Because no suspected mohel has ever submitted DNA.
And not because any suspected mohel has ever been cleared.
ummm….herpes simplex is not an STD. it is the virus that commonly causes cold sores around the lips and eyes. you see these on young yeshiva kids not infrequently. i assure you that not all of these kids are sexually active.
your apparent ignorance is on display, dr. fearer of hashem!
B”H for all you Holy Ones who deny science!
I don’t believe for one minute that the babies contracted herpes from the mohel. I don’t take anything at face value, that I hear from the media. They’re known to stretch and distort the truth and even tell outright sheker.
Unmentioned in the earlier comments are the likeliness of the mother passing the HSV-1 onto the child. For those that have the Herpes virus know that it usually breaks out when the body experiences a trauma such as fever. Hence the term “fever blister” as it used to be known. A mother giving birth, can have the virus triggered due to labor etc. A mother can be the primary source of the HSV virus. In many of the cases that had neonatal Herpes, a diaper rash was detected prior to the Milah which developed into the HSV virus. This would indicate that it happened prior to MBP. The fact that NYC wouldn’t follow Rockland County by employing DNA testing in order to determine if MBP is a real issue, shows an underhandedness at attempting to regulate Milah. Real health issues don’t need conjectures when it can easily be backed up by facts. The only reason to avoid facts is when the facts show otherwise.
In Vienna , and the Schiff shul too had a psak you do metziza with a tube. The Schiff schul hd rabbi furst a big talmid chochum and Reb Yitzkah baumgarten
I’m astounded at the amount of misinformation, rumor & innuendo, and spin being employed here.
I know some of the people at NYC Health and I’ve read the research and articles.
No one is taking milah away, there is no plan to ban circumcision, and these aren’t a bunch of anti-semites. In many cases, it’s been impossible to test the mohel at all because everyone involved refused to divulge the name.
DER EIBERSHTER ZUL HELFEN
MACH A BRIS