The mother of a 1-year-old boy who tested positive for the herpes virus said she doesn’t know who gave it to her son, and is now warning other parents to be cautious about who touches their child.
“It sucks because it’s a lifelong problem now,” Samantha Rodgers told Fox 12 Oregon of her son’s diagnosis. “I don’t know how to handle this. I am trying my best. It breaks my heart, and I can’t do anything to help him.”
Rodgers told the news outlet that she first noticed the red blisters forming on her son Juliano’s mouth on July 21. While his symptoms were initially suspected to be the flu or Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, the sores started to spread.
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“His sores were growing onto his hands and neck and his stomach,” she told Fox 12 Oregon.
Juliano then tested positive for the herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV) at Blank Children Hospital in Des Moines. For infants, the virus can be severe and could even result in death, according to the Department of Health. In children under age 5 it typically results from close contact with someone shedding HSV-1 in their saliva, or has an active outbreak.
Newborns require hospitalization for treatment and antiviral medication for 21 days. On July 28, Rodgers posted an update on Facebook indicating that Juliano had returned home.
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“It sucks because it’s a lifelong problem now,” Rodgers told Fox 12 Oregon. “I don’t know how to handle this. I am trying my best. It breaks my heart, and I can’t do anything to help him.”
“All I can say is just be cautious, it can be anybody your best friend, your sister, your brother or your mom,” Samantha Rodgers told Fox 12 Oregon. “It you see a cold sore or anything on them just don’t let them come by your baby.”
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