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Argument: Circumcision helps protect against kidney infections

Issue Report: Infant male circumcision

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Edgar J. Schoen, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics. “Prevention of Kidney Infections”. Opposing Views – “The bacteria that cause kidney infections, mainly fecal bacteria called fimbriated E. coli, bind to the moist inner surface of the foreskin and ascend up the urinary tract to cause kidney infections. Although urinary tract infections (UTIs) have been found to be more common in uncircumcised males of all ages, they are most prevalent and dangerous in infant boys below the age of 1 year, when they are more likely to lead to kidney damage. Since the mid-1980s, when the link between infant UTIs and circumcision was first discovered, more than 12 separate research studies have found that uncircumcised males are on average 10 times (1000%) more likely to get severe, potentially dangerous UTIs within the first of life as are circumcised infants.”