Baby boy dies in Italy after parents perform home circumcision

A baby boy has died in Italy following a botched circumcision performed by his parents at home.

The five-month-old boy was reportedly taken to a hospital in Bologna where he ended up dying of cardiac arrest.

According to local media, police are now conducting a manslaughter investigation.

This is the second case of this type in Italy in just a few months. In December, a two-year-old boy died after a failed circumcision at a migrant centre in Rome.

According to health charity Amsi, about 5000 circumcisions are performed in Italy every year but more than a third are done illegally.

The heavily Catholic country does not perform the procedure at public health institutions, which means immigrants for whom the procedure is commonplace - and an important cultural ritual - often find alternatives.