The National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC) issued a cautionary statement today about the increased risk of 'Super-Bug' methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections for circumcised infants. NOCIRC's statement follows a CDC report warning about MRSA as a major public health problem.

Executive Director Marilyn Milos, RN, says, "Expectant parents who are considering circumcision need to be informed. MRSA infection is a real and immediate risk of newborn circumcision. All parents of newborn boys need to be made aware of this risk."

MRSA annual incidence and death rates are 1.5 times HIV rates. The annual incidence MRSA in the US is 32 per 100,000, compared to HIV's rate of 21 per 100,000. While the death rate, per 100,000, is 6.3 for MRSA and 4.4 for HIV.

Circumcised males are twelve times more likely to contract MRSA than intact males. Infants in general are especially susceptible to MRSA infection because of their immature immune systems, and circumcision adds to that risk by creating an open wound, permitting an entry for pathogens.

Milos concludes, "MRSA infection is just one more reason not to subject newborn boys to this painful, traumatic, and completely unnecessary surgery."

NOCIRC is a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Roster status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. NOCIRC has over 100 centers worldwide.