A newborn baby died from the herpes virus, which got infected through a kiss
'26.10.2018'
Source: The New York Post
Parents of a newborn girl, who died just eight days after her birth in May 2018, warn others of the potential dangers of kissing and touching friends and relatives on the baby.
Abigail Rose Friend of Maryland states that her daughter Eliza Rose was born healthy, but later became infected with the herpes virus because of the kiss of an infected person, writes The New York Post.
The woman spoke about her Facebook tragedy to warn other parents.
“I will never stop telling the heartbreaking story of our dear Eliza Rose. She was 8 days old when she passed away. She was born a happy healthy child weighing almost 4 kg. She was healthy for a day and a half before the HSV-1 virus attached to her spine and destroyed her lungs and brain, ”Friend wrote on her social media page.
HSV-1 usually causes ulcers or small blisters in the mouth, around the eyes or lips, it is not dangerous for adults, but can lead to serious infections or even death in newborns due to their undeveloped immune system. According to the New York State Department of Health, about 70% of adults have HSV-1 and can transmit the virus at any time through saliva, even if they have no symptoms of the disease. The virus can be transmitted to the newborn through close contact with the person who is undergoing HSV-1.
Infected newborns may first have a slight fever, are bad, they may have blisters on their skin. In this case, symptoms can quickly develop into very high fever, convulsions, or even death. Treatment of infected newborns requires immediate hospitalization and a course of taking antiviral drugs lasting 21 a day. But this may not be enough to prevent death or brain damage.
The New York State Department of Health recommends washing your hands before touching newborns and not allowing people with ulcers or blisters around their mouth to kiss children.
In her post, Friend repeated this advice, stating that her daughter had died because someone had touched her with unwashed hands or had kissed the baby while she was carrying a virus.
Friend admitted that she thinks about her daughter every day and that she hopes that their tragedy will help teach people how to properly handle children. According to her, she did not know about the HSV-1 virus until he killed her daughter.
Eliza was disconnected from the 20 life support apparatus in May. Friend told me that it took her months to feel that she was ready to share the story of her baby.
