Re: Metzitzah b'peh

In <dqlrfg$sji$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> backon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

>In article <dqkda9$sqn$4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Steve Goldfarb" <slg@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
>> In <dqk93o$3gm$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> backon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
>>
>> [other issues snipped]
>>
>> Josh - as a doctor and a halachic expert: is mitzitzah b'peh safe?
>>

>With regard to AIDS: the virus is poorly transmittable by saliva.
>With regard to other viruses (and for that matter tuberculosis):
>the procedure could be quite dangerous.

>All halachic authorities forbid a Mohel with a contagious disorder
>to perform MBP. The entire raison d'etre of MBP is a health issue
>(to prevent infection). Using a glass pipette and using suction to
>remove the blood is a perfectly valid halachically and medically
>mandated.

>The only other option (which isn't feasible) is to have the Mohel
>tested EVERY DAY for a variety of viral titers in the blood. Then,
>and only then, would the risks involved in oral MPB be reduced to
>practically zero.

>Then there's my technical solution: there is a device (which my
>electronics company [which I run as a sideline] happens to
>manufacture at a cost (to us) of about $60 that could probably
>solve any problem of bacterial or viral transmission. MPB could
>then be carried out without any problem whatsoever.

>Josh

Thank you, Josh. Frankly, given this response, I don't see how anyone can
possibly say "the parents should be allowed to do whatever they want."

One more point - a key issue with the herpes virus specifically is that it
is intermittently dormant and then infectious. So, someone's saliva could
easily be negative today and positive tomorrow. Also, in adults the
infection often has no symptoms, so a person would very likely not realize
that they're contagious.

For the record, if your device (or any device) could be shown to be
effective, then I'd have no further objection to the practice. Not that my
opinion matters because it really isn't about me, it's about the babies.

--s
--

.

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