Cold-sore virus 'caused rapid death of baby'

Tiny Amy Irving had an "extraordinary rapid demise" after contracting herpes simplex type 1 at the Jessop Wing of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

It spread to all her organs overnight and she caught bacterial pneumonia which led to her death within hours the next day.

A doctor told a Sheffield hearing he believed the herpes virus probably came from staff or visitors to the baby but not from the mother Katy Weston, 26, of Halfway, Sheffield.

The premature baby, who was born at 34 weeks, was seen by consultant neo-natalogist Kirsty Mackay on a transitory care unit just a day before she died after the tot had been vomiting.

She found the baby "pink" with normal movement and no signs of distress.

"She looked as I would expect a baby of 34 weeks gestation to look," said Dr Mackay.

But within 24 hours little Amy, born on August 31 last year, was dead.

A pathologist gave the cause of death as disseminated herpes simplex type 1 and bacterial pneumonia contributed to by the baby's prematurity.

Robert Coombs, another consultant neo-natalogist, said Amy had episodes where she briefly stopped breathing for a few seconds which is not unusual in premature babies.

In case she had an infection, she was given tests and before the results came out 48 hours later she was put on antibiotics.

Miss Weston, her partner Carl Irving, 28, and the baby's grandfather Alan Weston, 55, queried whether the baby was well enough to be put back into transitory care.

But Dr Coombs said: "Written records show there was no reason she shouldn't have gone back there."

The baby was seen by a registrar on September 6 who noticed secretions from the baby's mouth and nose and suspected oesophagal reflux so put the child on new drugs.

The following day Amy was reviewed by a junior doctor and then Dr Mackay but nothing untoward was found.

Asked by coroner Chris Dorries if he would have done anything different, Dr Coombs replied: "If I had seen that child at that stage I would have done nothing else."

But at 10.30pm that evening Amy's condition worsened. She was still and milk had to be removed from her upper airways.

After she stopped breathing three times she was rushed to the high dependency unit.

Dr Coombs who was called in to the hospital said he found an "unusual scenario" and realised the baby had an infection.

He said: "It is not a common condition."

He said the baby was tested for herpes at the first screening and it was not there.

It was more likely to have caused her death than the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus which was also found.

There were only 1.65 cases of this type of herpes per 100,000 live births, he told the inquest.

Even if herpes had been diagnosed and treated when the baby collapsed she would not have survived.

He said it developed rapidly having been in the tot''s body for some time.

"My feeling is that the herpes was not an issue until that evening," he said.

Amy's grandfather Alan Weston said the family believed Amy was in pain and should have been treated earlier.

He told the inquest: "I could see all the signs that she was ill on September 6. Unbeknown to me she was dying in my arms as I was nursing her."

Dr Mackay said she had thought about the case repeatedly over the last year.

"I have come to the conclusion that I would not do anything differently again," she said.

The hearing continues.