A MOTHER who regularly kissed her newborn baby on the lips infected him with the herpes virus and his entire body was left covered in shocking sores.
The three-month-old boy was rushed to a clinic before concerned doctors transferred him to a hospital in East China’s Zhejiang Province.
The baby’s entire body was covered in blisters and cold sores, Doctor Zhu Haiqiao said, adding that the boy was also running a high fever because the infection had gone untreated for days.
"The three-month-old’s body and especially his face and head were red and covered in sores," the medic said. "It was painful to look at."
At first medics thought he had a skin condition but later determined it to be an infection of herpes simplex virus 1 – or HSV-1.
Doctor Zhu said he believes the boy contracted the illness from his mother, who regularly kissed him on the lips out of affection, inadvertently passing on the virus to the still developing child.
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The dangers of the herpes virus to infants include septicemia and organ damage, Zhu noted, saying it could in some cases prove fatal.
Fortunately, the hospital was able to treat the herpes in time, and the boy has since been discharged following a brief course of treatment.
Why kissing your newborn baby can prove deadly
Just a peck on the lips can trigger nasty infections that can cause seizures, breathing problems, even death.
The culprit is the herpes virus, which in adults can cause cold sores and genital ulcers.
If a mum or dad has a cold sore and kisses her baby, it's possible they could pass the virus to her baby.
The reason babies are at such high risk, is because their immune system is not fully developed.
In babies the infection is known as neonatal herpes, and is caused by the herpes simplex virus.
In less severe cases, neonatal herpes will affect a baby's eyes, mouth or skin, according to the NHS.
And in these cases, a baby will typically recover with antiviral treatment.
But it can be much more serious.
If the infection spreads to a baby's internal organs, the infection will claim one in three newborn lives.
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