Something as simple as a kiss or touch in the cheek could put a baby in the emergency room for neonatal herpes.
There are about a million illnesses to worry about when it comes to a newborn. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, influenza, whooping cough—they all have a place in the pantheon of parental fears. Now one UK mom’s viral Facebook post hopes to raise awareness of a less discussed affliction among kids: herpes. While the virus is virtually harmless to adults, it almost killed her 11-day-old son.
Everything was going fine after Lucy Kendall and her partner Jaz Miller had their first son Oliver. But when he stopped drinking his milk and began to suffer from a high fever, they rushed him to the hospital to discover that he’d contacted neonatal herpes. The doctors proceeded to tell Kendall that infants can get herpes from an adult who carries the virus and kisses them, even if no sores are present.
According to the CDC, around one in six Americans between 14 and 49 years old has contracted genital herpes which is caused by a virus called HSV-2. But, about half of US adults have contracted oral herpes from a virus called HSV-1. There are no dangerous health side effects from either, but when it comes to children under three-months-old, their bodies simply aren’t strong enough to fight off the virus. The sores are most contagious when they rupture and don’t stop being contagious until they’re totally gone. Now, Kendall is hoping that other parents will be more careful.