Investigation to open into death of two-week-old Brooklyn infant following circumcision
The office of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced Monday that it will open an investigation into the death of a two-week-old infant who died shortly after a controversial circumcision ritual.
The baby perished in Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn in September 2011. According to a report by the Daily News on Sunday, the cause of death was listed as “disseminated herpes simplex virus Type 1, complicating ritual circumcision with oral suction.”
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This case reawakened the old debate on the tradition of oral suction in circumcision ceremonies. Over the last few years, New York hospitals have seen numerous deaths of babies, the cause of which, tests have shown, were viruses contracted from the mohel who performed oral suction during circumcision.
The most famous was in 2005, when twin boys perished days after their circumcisions. Post-mortem tests showed conclusive evidence that the cause of death was the contraction of a virus from the mohel who performed the circumcision. The mohel was banned from continuing to practice.
