Mum’s harrowing warning as newborn baby dies from herpes at 8 days old
A MUM is warning other parents not to kiss their own babies after her newborn baby died after contracting herpes.
Baby Aliza Rose Friend was just eight days old when she died after contracting neonatal herpes.
Her mum, Abigail Rose Friend, claims the little girl had been healthy for just 36 hours before she became lethargic, lost her appetite and developed a fever.
The new mum had to watch as her healthy newborn quickly deteriorated and claims there was so much fluid in her lungs that she could see all the veins in her daughter's chest.
Doctors told Abigail that Aliza had contracted the virus after being kissed by a carrier of the disease, or touched with unwashed hands - but there was no way to know who gave it to her.
Now the devastated mum is bravely speaking out to warn other parents not to kiss their newborns, or let anyone else kiss them.
Abigail, from Maryland in the US, said: “There's not a moment goes by that I don't think about her. She's in my thoughts every day.
“I hope that her story can bring awareness to people to not kiss babies and to wash your hands.
“You don't want something like this to happen. It's awful. I just want people to become aware that this is a very real threat to children.
“I'm going to do everything I can to bring awareness to this disease for the rest of my life.”
Just one baby in every 100,000 is affected by the rare condition in the UK.
“I didn't even know it was possible for babies to get this until it had already happened,” Abigail, 19, said.
“The illness is so rare that as a new mum you don't hear about it, and yet it's such a common virus. No one seems to know that babies can die from this.
“Aliza was healthy for a day and a half. It took the virus six and a half days to completely destroy her body.
“Some family and a few close friends came to visit her when she was born.
“There's no way to ever know who gave it to her because it's such a common virus. It could have been anybody. It could have been a doctor for all I know.”
When Aliza was born she was a happy, healthy baby, Abigail recalled.
But within days her condition deteriorated in front of her distraught mum’s eyes and she was left hooked up to so many machines Abigail threw up at the sight.
“She was having trouble breathing and they had to put her on oxygen and eventually she was on so many machines and tubes that you couldn't even tell she was a baby,” she said.
Doctors claimed the illness was so rare it was practically a “fluke” that Aliza had contracted it, and assured Abigail and her partner Tyler Hensley, 26, that there was hope their little girl would pull through.
Aliza was in such agonising pain that she was sedated to keep her comfortable.
The combination of medications left her with seizures and soon she was being monitored using an EEG machine as well as a dialysis machine and equipment to keep her breathing.
The little girl was eventually declared brain dead after the virus “ate away her brain”, and Abigail sang You Are My Sunshine to her daughter as she passed away on May 20.
“Her brain swelled up so badly and her lungs were so swollen that you could see all the veins in her chest,” Abigail said.
“She was basically hooked up to any kind of machine you can think of to have a baby on. It literally made me sick to my stomach to see her like that.
“I would go in and sit with her for a little bit and I would just sit there and see her on these machines and see them breathing for her and I would throw up. It made me physically sick.
“They told us on May 19 that they didn't think she was going to get better but that she could. Then I asked if there was hope or false hope and they said there was real hope.
“The very next day, not even 24 hours later, they're telling us we need to take her off the machines because she's not going to make it.”
Months after the death of her daughter, Abigail finally felt ready to share her story and wrote it in a status online.
In the post, Abigail said: “I’m never going to stop sharing the gut wrenching, heart-breaking, soul shattering story of our sweet Aliza Rose.
“Someone touched her without washing their hands or kissed her face while being a carrier of the virus. And anyone can be a carrier and not show signs.
“It’s fatal until at least two weeks old and parents can pass it on to them as well! Please help us save more babies lives by sharing our story and not kissing babies.
“Wash your hands. Do not kiss the babies.”
The emotional post received more than 500,000 reactions, shares and comments.
The herpes virus can easily be passed onto babies and toddlers through something as simple as a kiss, and can prove fatal.
Herpes is a common infection caused by the herpes simplex virus, which causes painful blisters on the mouth or on the genitals, which is passed on by sexual contact.
It is a chronic long-term condition, which can become active again.
There are two types of herpes - HSV 1 and HSV 2 - which enter the body through the moist skin of the mouth, penis, vagina and rectum.
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Both types can cause cold sores on the mouth, genital herpes, whitlows (small abscesses) on the fingers and hands.
Herpes is especially dangerous for babies under six months old and newborn babies because their immune systems are still developing.
Neonatal herpes is a herpes infection in a newborn baby.
It's caused by the highly contagious herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores and genital ulcers in adults.
Sometimes neonatal herpes only affects a baby's eyes, mouth or skin. If this is the case most babies will recover with antiviral treatment.
The condition is much more serious if it spreads to the baby's organs - almost a third of babies with this type of neonatal herpes will die, even if they receive treatment.
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