At least four babies in NYC have been infected with herpes from mohels performing the metzitzah b’peh ritual since September 2019. According to a report from the CDC, three of those babies have been infected since December; all three have been admitted to the hospital and are reportedly recovering now. Herpes can cause severe infection in babies resulting in brain damage and death.

The "metzitzah b'peh" ritual is the circumcision practice in which a mohel sucks the blood from a freshly snipped foreskin of a baby boy. Outside of the ultra-Orthodox community, the ritual is shunned by Jews, and is considered by many to be an ancient tradition based on "a long-discredited medical theory from the Iron Age before the dawn of the Common Era."



"Protecting the health and wellbeing of infants is always the city’s first priority," said Department Of Health spokesperson Patrick Gallahue. "The spread of neonatal herpes through ritual circumcision is a public health risk. To address this risk, we will continue to work with providers and families across our city to keep our youngest New Yorkers safe."

The DOH added they have started doing outreach to medical providers in the orthodox Jewish community on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of herpes in newborns, and warn families about the risks of this particular ritual. At least one of the babies recently diagnosed was not immediately hospitalized because health care providers did not recognize the signs of infection.

The Health Department also noted that there have been no reported cases of herpes from the ritual in the city since 2017, when it came out that at least six babies had been infected with herpes since Mayor de Blasio came into office. At the time, two of the six mohels who infected the babies were identified and ordered to stop performing the ritual. De Blasio acknowledged that the policy at the time was not working.

Under the Bloomberg administration, the Board of Health ruled that "parents need to be aware of the opinion of experts," and introduced circumcision consent forms that required parents to sign a waiver before their infant could undergo the procedure. The city was immediately sued by ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, who claimed their First Amendment rights were violated.

When he was first running for office, de Blasio criticized the Bloomberg administration for not doing enough community outreach, but stopped short of promising to dispose of the consent forms. His subsequent criticism of the consent forms helped him win over ultra-Orthodox Jewish voters and further distinguish himself from Bloomberg, saying, "I would start over and change the policy to find a way to protect all of our children but also respect religious tradition." As Failed Messiah put it at the time, "Bill De Blasio Promises Satmar That In Exchange For Votes, He Will Repeal Informed Consent For Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Practice."

De Blasio made good on that promise in 2015, with the Board of Health nixing the consent forms. The city instead directed health officials to distribute a brochure to ultra-Orthodox Jewish parents titled, "Make a safe bris for your baby."

Over 20 babies in NYC have been infected with herpes since 2000 because of the ritual, and at least two have died because of it. Israeli doctors studying the herpes infection also believe it may be the cause of the noticeably higher number of learning disabled children in Hasidic communities.