The Worst — No, Really The Worst

An orthodox mohel — not even the same one! — has given two more babies herpes and now the City is trying to “educate” parents about the risk of having some random 80-year-old geezer with cold sores suckle their baby’s cut penis. I’m all for religious tolerance, but this is just horrible:

Two more babies have contracted herpes through an ancient circumcision rite, leading the city’s top health official yesterday to release an open letter to the city’s Orthodox Jewish community urging caution.

The practice, known in Hebrew as metzitzah b’peh, involves a practitioner, or mohel, drawing blood from a child’s circumcision wound by mouth.

Last year, three baby boys — including one who died — were known to be infected with herpes during circumcisions by the same Rockland County-based rabbi, Yitzchok Fischer, who has since suspended the practice, officials said.

But two new cases of infection — neither of which appears to be connected to Fischer — have since been reported to the city, causing Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden to release his letter yesterday.

I’m not the “There-oughta-be-a-law!” type, but . . . the health department’s response seems a little, er, permissive:

The letter steered away from urging a ban on oral suction, as some have suggested, and instead focused on trying to educate families about inherent risks.

“To help protect their baby,” Frieden wrote, “parents should understand the risk of metzitzah b’peh — BEFORE the day of the [circumcision], while there is time to explore other options.”

See also: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Before the Bris: How to Protect Your Infant Against Herpes Virus Infection Caused by metzitzah b’peh information page.