Two more infants have contracted the herpes virus after undergoing an ultra-Orthodox Jewish type of circumcision , which has been linked to the spread of the potentially deadly virus to newborn boys , according to the New York City Health Department . In the ritual , known as metzitzah b'peh , after removing the foreskin of the penis the person performing the procedure places his mouth briefly over the wound , sucking a small amount of blood out , which is discarded . Antibacterial ointment is applied and the wound is bandaged . The health department says the procedure is dangerous because the contact with the mouth could transmit diseases such as herpes . Most adults are infected with the herpes simplex virus type 1 , and while they may have no symptoms , the virus may be present in their saliva , according to the health department . ( It is different from herpes simplex virus type 2 , which is usually transmitted sexually . ) `` While HSV-1 in adults can cause the common cold sore , HSV-1 infection in newborns is very serious , '' a department statement says . Since 2000 , there have been 13 reports in New York City of infants contracting HSV-1 , two of whom died from the virus . The health department reported that an estimated 20,493 infants in New York City were exposed to the practice in that period . In the most recent case , the infant developed a fever seven days after circumcision and vesicular lesions the following day , according to a press release from the city health department . Seventy percent of neonatal herpes cases show lesions and only 40 % produce a fever . The DOH passed a regulation in September requiring all those who perform the ritual to get parental consent on a form stating that the procedure can lead to health risks . Several Jewish groups and three rabbis filed a lawsuit in federal District Court in Manhattan arguing that `` the government can not compel the transmission of messages that the speaker does not want to express -- especially when the speaker is operating in an area of heightened First Amendment protection , such as a religious ritual . '' Dr. Thomas A. Farley , commissioner of the city 's health department , claimed the consent requirement was `` lawful , appropriate and necessary '' in a September press release . `` The city 's highest obligation is to protect its children ; therefore , it is important that parents know the risks associated with the practice , '' he said . Baby boys whose circumcisions likely involved the ritual between April 2006 and December 2011 had an estimated risk of contracting neonatal HSV-1 infection of 24.4 per 100,000 cases , 3.4 times greater than other infants , according to the health department . `` There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn , '' Farley said . While Jews regularly practice circumcision as part of their religion , metzitzah b'peh is limited to a relatively small number of ultra-Orthodox Jews .
Two infants diagnosed with herpes after ultra-Orthodox Jewish circumcision ritual . In it , the person performing the circumcision sucks blood away from the baby 's penis . Most adults carry HSV-1 virus ; health department says it can be deadly for babies . The metzitzah b'peh ritual is practiced by relatively small number of ultra-Orthodox Jews .