A warning has been issued by the health officials in New York that the common practice undertaken during the Orthodox Jewish circumcision ceremonies in the form of oral-genital suction can leave the infants with a potentially fatal herpes virus infection. This warning comes in wake of recent reports that link 11 infants becoming infected with the herpes simplex virus type 1 since 2000 to circumcision.

According to the New York City and federal health authorities, ten of the infected newborns were hospitalized, while two developed brain damage and two died. Although the ritual is only embraced by a handful of sects within the Orthodox Jewish community; it still poses a lot of threat to the life of an innocent infant. During the process, the adult performing the circumcision places the mouth of an infant on the circumcision wound to siphon blood away from the cut.

In a news release, Farley while issuing a warning said, “There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn. Parents considering ritual Jewish circumcision need to know that circumcision should only be performed under sterile conditions, like any other procedures that create open cuts, even by medical professionals”.