Herpes in babies ‘must be reported’
New rules follow death of 12-day-old Eibhlín Wills
BABIES with a cold-sore virus must be reported by doctors to the Director of Public Health under new rules introduced by the health minister.
In Ireland, ‘neonatal herpes simplex’ has never been a notifiable disease and the number of babies who have died from the condition is unknown.
But now Health Minister Simon Harris will sign the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2018 into law following the case of John and Louise Wills’s baby daughter, Eibhlín, who died 12 days after her birth from complications caused by the disease.
An inquest in late October heard that Eibhlín’s organs began to fail after she was exposed to the virus in 2015.
Dublin Coroner’s Court heard that Eibhlín Wills acquired the infection in the first five days of her life. Blood tests had shown no sign of the infection three days after her birth. Neither of her parents was a carrier and the couple have campaigned for more awareness of the dangers of the infection since Eibhlín’s death on December 1, 2015.
It is thought Eibhlín came into contact with the disease in the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street.
Soon after Eibhlín’s tragic death, her father John said: ‘Eibhlín was our first child. She was very much wanted and when she died, it was awful, it felt unreal.’
GPs and other medical professionals will now have to officially declare a case of oral herpes, otherwise known as the cold-sore virus, to the Director of Public Health. This information will be used to investigate cases and prevent wider infection.
Health Minister Simon Harris said: ‘The loss of an infant is something that most of us cannot even begin to come to terms with, much less turn into something positive. That is what makes the work of both John and Louise so extraordinary and powerful.
‘I hope that the inclusion of neonatal herpes simplex among the diseases that are notifiable will help, in some small way, to increase public awareness of this disease and the danger that it can represent to newborns.’
John and Louise run a website to remember their daughter and offer information about the disease that so unexpectedly took her life.
A post on the website reads: ‘This website is dedicated to the memory of our beautiful little girl, Eibhlín Gráinne Wills, who sadly passed away, suddenly and peacefully on her 12th day.
‘We want to help raise awareness of the cause of her death, promote education, and prevent further deaths and heartache in the future,’ it reads.
After Eibhlín was taken home from hospital following her birth, she began to seem congested and her parents thought she had caught a cold.
As her condition worsened, they decided to take her to the GP the next morning but their daughter quickly became listless and her colour changed.
They took their baby to Tallaght A&E and a crash team were called within minutes.
At 1.09am, a week after she had been taken home for the first time by her parents, Eibhlín was pronounced dead.
She had died from Disseminated Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus 1, a disease that remained hidden for a period but eventually resulted in multiple organ failure.
The rare disease comes from the mother in 90% of cases but it is believed Eibhlín must have become infected with the virus whilst in hospital during her first week of life.
Now Neonatal Herpes Simplex will have to be declared alongside both confirmed and suspected cases of Creutzfeld- Jakob Disease – a fatal degenerative brain disorder. Other diseases with a resistance to certain antibiotics or medical drugs will also now have to be declared.
Became infected while in hospital