A newborn baby developed a fever, fell into a coma, and subsequently suffered brain death after contracting a Herpes virus from a kiss from a visitor.

The unfortunate baby was Aliza Rose Friend from Oakland, Maryland. Her mother, Abigail, stated that Aliza was healthy for the first 36 hours after birth. However, she then developed a fever, became lethargic, and lost all interest in breastfeeding. She was diagnosed with the Herpes HSV-1 virus, a common cause of infantile herpes. Aliza’s condition deteriorated rapidly. The virus “ate away at her lungs and brain,” causing her significant difficulty breathing and seizures.

Hope arose when doctors informed her parents, Abigail (19) and Tyler Hensley (26), that Aliza still had a chance of survival. But then, on May 20th, doctors tearfully announced that Aliza was brain dead. All life support equipment for the baby had been turned off.

Doctors also said Aliza may have contracted the infection after receiving a kiss from someone carrying the Herpes virus. This virus usually manifests as cold sores.

“Aliza was perfectly healthy for more than a day after she was born. The virus took six and a half days to completely destroy her body. Some family members and a few close friends came to visit when I gave birth. It’s impossible to know who transmitted the virus to her because it’s a very common virus. It can be present in anyone’s body. The carrier could even be a doctor, based on everything I know,” Abigail recalled.

Recounting Aliza’s initial symptoms after contracting the virus, Abigail said: “She started having a fever and wouldn’t wake up after naps. She also had no appetite. Aliza started swelling up due to fluid buildup in her lungs. Her brain swelled up terribly. Her lungs swelled up too, to the point where you could see all the blood vessels in her chest.”

In an effort to save Aliza’s life, doctors had to give her sedatives to help alleviate her pain. But the combination of several medications resulted in Aliza having seizures.

“She had difficulty breathing. Doctors had to put a breathing tube in her. Eventually, she was covered in machines and tubes. You couldn’t even tell she was a newborn baby,” Abigail recounted in anguish. “I was allowed in and sat beside her for a little while. I just sat there, looking at her with all those machines and wires. Watching them breathe for my daughter. It felt like a lump in my throat…

On May 19th, the doctors told us they hadn’t thought Aliza could get any better. But the reality was, she had a chance of recovery. Then I asked them if there was any hope, even if it was just a false hope. But the doctors insisted that hope was real.”

But just the next day, Aliza was declared brain dead. Her mother choked back tears as she sang “You are my sunshine” as Aliza passed away. “The only way to describe this is that it truly tore my heart apart. Aliza was a chubby, happy, lovely little girl. Not a moment goes by that I don’t think of her. She’s in my thoughts every day,” the young mother said, heartbroken.

Although doctors believe Aliza contracted the illness from a kiss or from someone’s dirty, unwashed hands touching her, there’s no way to know exactly who transmitted the virus to her.

Months after the traumatic event, Abigail Friend finally found the strength to share her story, to encourage other parents not to let people kiss their babies. In a Facebook post that garnered over 500,000 responses, Abigail wrote: “REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR HANDS. DON’T KISS BABIES.”

“I will never stop sharing the heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and devastating story of our sweet little Aliza Rose. Someone touched her without washing their hands and kissed her face while carrying the virus. And anyone can have that virus. They showed no symptoms at all! Herpes can be life-threatening until a child is at least two weeks old. Even parents can transmit the virus to their children! Please help us save more newborn lives by sharing this story and by NOT KISSING babies.”

“I didn’t even know it could happen to newborns until it actually happened to my child. It’s so rare that, as a first-time mother, you might not even hear about it. But Herpes is a very common virus. It seems nobody knows that newborns can die from it. It attaches itself to the baby’s spine, causing fluid buildup around the lungs and brain. Essentially, it eats away at the baby’s internal organs until the brain dies. There’s no cure. Babies two weeks old or younger are at risk of death. If they do survive this stage, they still need 24/7 care for the rest of their lives.”