A tragic story out of Australia has become a cautionary tale for new parents around the world. Sarah Pugh, a mother of three, recently gave birth to a fourth child. This infant was immediately showered with many kisses from family and friends. After everyone left Pugh’s house, however, her daughter Eloise suddenly lost a great deal of weight and did not show any appetite at feeding time. Sarah knew something was horribly wrong.
A few days after giving birth to Eloise, Sarah rushed her daughter back to the hospital. Unfortunately, this tale doesn’t have a happy ending. Doctors soon discovered that Eloise had contracted the herpes simplex virus from the kisses she received. The herpes simplex virus is the same that causes cold sores in adults, but it can be lethal for infants. After being kept alive by life support machines, Eloise passed away due to a staph infection. She was only 24 days old.
Now, Sarah spends her free time spreading awareness about the dangers of kissing infants, especially on the mouth. Sarah has made it her life’s work to ensure that no other mother or father has to go through all the pain she went through. And Sarah is not alone. British mother Claire Henderson’s daughter contracted herpes simplex virus from kisses as well. Luckily for Claire, she had read an article about the danger of cold sores in infants and was able to recognize the symptoms in her daughter very quickly. Due to Claire’s quick response, her daughter was able to survive. Sarah and Claire both hope through spreading this information via social media that no baby will ever lose their life to this disease again.
