A FIVE-MONTH-OLD boy has died after his parents performed a circumcision on him at home in Italy, according to officials.
The tot was rushed to hospital in Bologna, northern Italy, with a cardiac arrest on Friday night but died shortly after arriving.
An investigation has been launched by officials in the Reggio Emilia province into the parents who are said to be of Ghanaian origin.
A similar case in Rome saw a two-year-old boy die after a failed circumcision was carried out in a migrant centre in December last year.
The boy’s twin brother was placed in intensive care and survived after having the same operation.
Around 5,000 circumcisions are carried out each year in Italy but more than a third of them are carried out illegally, health charity Amsi says.
The Roman catholic country does not allow circumcisions to be carried out in public health institutions, leading some to be done illegally.
The operations at private clinics in Italy can cost up to €4,000 but backstreet clinics can offer them for as little as €20.
The operation involves removing the foreskin and can sometimes be performed for health reasons in later life.
Many of the country’s immigrants are from Muslim countries where the operation is common practice.
The operation is important to Muslims as it is seen as the prophet’s tradition and is also seen as a matter of cleanliness.
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