Tragedy of boy who got deadly blood infection on his first day at school
A COUPLE told of their heartbreak yesterday after their four-year-old boy contracted a fatal blood infection on his first day at school.
When Alfie returned home, he told his mother he couldn’t wait to go back.
However, that night he developed a sniffle and a temperature so, thinking he had a cold, his parents gave him Calpol.
The next morning, they were horrified to find him covered in a livid purple rash.
He was taken to Derriford Hospital near his home in Plymouth, where his condition deteriorated rapidly and doctors were forced to resuscitate him twice.
Alfie was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia – a form of blood poisoning caused by the same type of bacteria associated with meningitis. The bacteria is carried harmlessly by around 5 per cent of people but can be lethal, particularly to children.
After Alfie’s condition became critical, he was taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for specialist treatment.
Tragically, he died two weeks later on September 23.
Alfie’s parents, who do not wish to be identified, have released a heartbreaking photograph of him in hospital two days before he died to raise awareness of meningitis symptoms.
They said: ‘We are struggling to process what has happened and the injustice of him suffering through a needless and devastating illness.
‘We are pulling together to help one another through this most difficult time, but we would give anything to have Alfie back, happy and smiling.
‘The loss is devastating – a pain that we can’t put into words, but we can’t help but feel so proud of him. He was always so happy and full of energy.
‘He could be mischievous but was thoughtful and caring and made friends easily.
‘We will never fill the hole that he has left in our lives.’
Meningococcal septicaemia infects a small proportion of the one in 20 people colonised by the bacteria, and when found, requires immediate antibacterial vaccination. Although Alfie was treated at an early stage, doctors were unable to stop the infection taking over his body.
It is triggered by the release of toxins into the blood. In the hours straight after infection, septicaemia may produce a purple rash that looks like pinpricks in the skin. Other tell-tale symptoms of meningitis, such as joint pain and cold hands and feet, may appear more gradually.
Research shows the classic symptoms of meningitis develop after an average of 13 to 22 hours, but many victims are close to death just 24 hours after getting infected.
This means the window of opportunity for doctors to start treatment is very small.
Meningococcal disease of both types – bacterial meningitis and septicaemia – is one of the main infectious causes of death in children in the UK.
Alfie died after missing out on a life-saving vaccination. He was born in February 2014, 19 months before the Government introduced a routine vaccination for the deadly meningitis B (MenB) infection in September
‘We’d give anything to have Alfie back’
2015. MenB is the most common cause of meningococcal septicaemia. Alfie’s parents were unaware that they could have had him vaccinated privately against MenB for £220.
Alfie’s aunt, Dani Lowther, has started an online fundraising campaign to increase awareness of the condition that killed him and raise money for his funeral. Supporters have so far donated £8,000 for the funeral.
She said: ‘It’s devastating to learn something could have been done to save his life. It makes his death even more cruel.’
Tony Neve, of the Meningitis Help charity, urged all parents of at-risk children born too early for the routine vaccination to pay for it privately, adding: ‘We have lobbied in Parliament to see the vaccine offered across the whole child age spectrum. Our advice is to just buy it.’