'Suck Penis' Jewish Tradition, Baby in Israel Infected with Herpes

Illustration of a baby. (Unsplash.com-Fe Ngo)

JAKARTA - A baby contracted herpes after undergoing circumcision involving sucking the penis from the mouth, which is a Jewish tradition.

Russia Today reported on Friday, March 20, that as a result of the illness suffered by the two-week-old baby, he was treated at the Wolfson Medical Center Hospital, Tel Aviv, Israel.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the baby suffered a severe herpes infection after contracting the virus during a brit milah (Jewish ritual circumcision) involving direct sucking into the mouth, also known as metzitzah b'peh.

Doctors found that the virus had reached the baby's cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting that the infection had penetrated the central nervous system.

The condition is said to threaten the life of the newborn baby because his immune system is not fully developed.

The baby was initially rushed to the hospital after suffering a worrying lesion in the circumcision area and showing a rapid decline in condition, requiring medical treatment and hospitalization.

After a series of extensive tests, including a lumbar puncture, doctors found that the herpes virus had entered the baby's cerebrospinal fluid.

Head of the pediatric department at the Wolfson Medical Center and pediatric infectious disease specialist, Dr. Diana Tasher, considers this case very worrying