People weighed in with their warnings after baby Olivia almost died from the virus
People weighed in with their warnings after baby Olivia almost died from the virus
People have shared their own warnings after a newborn baby was infected with a lethal virus just weeks into her life. Stacey Barry, from Wirral, gave birth to her daughter Olivia just before Christmas, but just days after her birth, Olivia began to develop a rash on her face.
After Stacey sought medical advice, she and her family rushed Olivia to hospital where it was uncertain as to whether the newborn would survive. Doctors told Stacey that her daughter had caught HSV – a rare but severe and potentially fatal infection in infants younger than six weeks old.
The virus is usually transmitted to babies via carriers of the virus, often through active cold sores. Speaking about Olivia’s symptoms and how they suddenly appeared, Stacey, 38, told the ECHO: “Olivia was born just before Christmas, but by New Year’s Eve we started to notice a rash on her face.
“We assumed she had scratched her nose and when it developed into more of a rash we thought it was just a milk rash like most babies get.”
Olivia’s rash continued to develop, with her GP advising her to take her daughter to Arrowe Park Hospital immediately. Stacey added: “The hospital were amazing, they did everything right away, we were in a private room within minutes and a doctor saw us very quickly.
“We were told by a senior doctor that this could reach her brain and affect her organs. He told us what a fast acting virus this was.
“He told us he wanted to get a canula in and start treatment immediately. Between my GP and Arrowe Park, they saved her life, I can’t fault them.”
Warning people about the dangers of HSV, she told the ECHO: “From what we were told it is someone who carries the virus with a cold sore. It doesn’t necessarily need to come from a cold sore directly, but if someone has a cold sore that is active and has touched their face and then touched the baby, it can be passed that way.
“It is a really fast-acting virus, as soon as it touches the baby it goes straight through their immune system and that’s why they were worried about her organs and her brain.”
Following the initial story, there were an outpouring of warnings from ECHO readers. Alison Davies-Bell said: “Can we please all normalise not kissing babies, especially if you know you suffer from cold sores.
“Thank goodness this little one is doing well, but it can be fatal.”
Tracey Winnall commented: “I suffer with cold sores. I’ve never kissed my grandchildren and one is nearly 19 months for purely this reason. [I’m] glad baby Olivia is doing well.”
Autumn-Leigh Wilson said: “I suffer severely with HSV, many years ago I had it on both eyelids and looked like I had gone head to head with Mike Tyson.
“When my boy was born, I got one and for a month, I refused to kiss him, I sanitised my hands with alcohol rub and used cold sore covers, I wasn’t risking it. I’m so glad Olivia made it.”
Cathy Goodwin said: “I carry the HSV virus, when my son was born I never kissed his lips and washed hands continuously.
“Cold sores are a curse and you suffer with them your whole life as the virus lives in you and reactivates frequently. Thankfully my son doesn’t get them.”
