Five-month-old boy dies after botched home circumcision performed by his parents in Italy

A five-month-old boy has died after a botched circumcision by his parents at home, reports suggest.

The infant was rushed by helicopter to a Bologna hospital in Italy while suffering from cardiac arrest on Friday afternoon.

He is believed to have died in hospital later that night.

A manslaughter investigation has been opened against the boy's parents - said to be of Ghanaian origin - by the prosecutor's office in the northern province of Reggio Emilia and an autopsy will follow.

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A five-month-old boy in Italy died after a botched circumcision was performed by his parents at home. The child suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday and later died in a hospital in Bologna (stock image of tools for circumcision)

The tragedy follows a botched home circumcision of a two-year-old who died of severe blood loss in December in Rome.

In that case, his twin brother also nearly died but survived following intensive care treatment. 

That operation had taken place in a centre provided by the non-profit organisation Arci and the council in Monterondo, a north-western suburb of Rome.

The doctor, who was believed to be an American citizen of Libyan origin, called for emergency help when the boy began excessively bleeding, Italian media reported at the time.

What are the health risks of male circumcision?

In the UK, complications after circumcisions carried out for medical reasons are rare and most men don't experience any significant problems.

Apart from the initial swelling, bleeding and infection are the two most common problems associated with circumcision.

There is between a one in 10 and a one in 50 chance that the person will experience bleeding or infection.

Other possible complications of circumcision can include:

• Permanent reduction in sensation in the head of the penis, particularly during sex
• Tenderness around the scar
• The need to remove stitches that have not dissolved
• Occasionally, another operation is needed to remove some more skin from around the head of the penis.
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His twin brother also underwent the operation and was admitted to Sant Andrea hospital but was later transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit at Gemelli Hospital in Rome. 

The boy's mother was said to be a woman of Nigerian origin, who was believed to have sought asylum in Italy and has five other children in Nigeria.

She was said to have asked for the religious operations in line with Nigeria's Islamic traditions, despite being Catholic, local media reported.  

Circumcision is not practised among Italy's Roman Catholic majority. 

But many immigrants in Italy are Muslim and practise circumcision for cultural and religious reasons.

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More than 5,000 circumcisions are performed in Italy each year, with more than a third carried out illegally, according to a health charity (stock image)

They sometimes have trouble accessing the practice in hospitals.

Sometimes Italian hospital costs are too high or doctors refuse to perform circumcisions until the boys have at least reached the age of four. 

But more than 5,000 circumcisions are still performed in Italy each year - with more than a third carried out illegally, according to health charity Amsi.

Circumcision operations at private clinics in the country can cost up to €4,000, but they can be offered for €50 to €20 at backstreet surgeries. 

Foad Aodi, founder of the association of foreign doctors in Italy, has appealed to health authorities to allow circumcisions at affordable prices and to lower the age of access to help fight clandestine attempts at circumcisions.