Seemingly harmless touch. But it was enough for the baby to become infected with the deadly virus.
On July 1, Nicole Sifrit gave birth to a long-awaited baby girl. Together with her husband, they happily posted pictures with the baby on social networks. And soon we went home – Mariana was born absolutely healthy and very cheerful. But by July 8, they sensed something was wrong: baby Mariana suddenly practically gave up her breast and slept all the time. The parents rushed back to the hospital. There they found that the girl had meningitis. A form of HSV1 – it is caused by the herpes simplex virus.
“Two hours later, Mariana began to have difficulty breathing. Her organs began to fail one by one, the parents said later. – Kidneys, liver … Both hematologists and neurologists were engaged in it. We never thought that this could happen to us. And they were completely unprepared for such a test. “
Both parents were tested for herpes – the result is negative. It turns out that baby Mariana was infected by one of her friends or relatives.
On July 10, Mariana was connected to an artificial life support apparatus. The baby was barely visible because of the wires and pipes. But her condition only worsened. Nicole and Shane prayed for a miracle for a week. But … “Our princess Mariana Reese Sifrit became an angel this morning at 8.41 am. She died in the arms of her father, next to her mother. Now she no longer suffers. She is now in heaven “- this entry appeared on Nicole Sifrit’s page on the social network on July 18th.
Doctors state with regret that this case is not an isolated one. Herpetic meningitis develops in different ways: sometimes the baby develops a fever, the skin becomes covered with ulcers. But if they are not there, and the parents notice that something is wrong, when the child is already falling into lethargy, the outcome will be tragic.
“The first two months after the birth of a child, you need to be very careful. At this time, the baby’s immunity has not yet woken up. Therefore, the virus develops very quickly, causing serious illness in newborns, – said Tanya Altman, doctor of pediatrics. – The meningitis virus is spread by contact. This infection is highly contagious. “
The doctor advises in the first two months of a child’s life to limit his contacts with the outside world: not to invite guests, friends, relatives. If you still can’t do without it, make sure that they wash their hands thoroughly before touching the baby. And in general, you shouldn’t take a child – there will still be time for that. And, of course, in no case should anyone be allowed to kiss the baby. Although herpes does not always cause meningitis, sometimes a child becomes just a carrier of the virus, like most of us. But caution has never bothered anyone.