Don’t let strangers kiss your baby! Infant contracts deadly Herpes virus after being kissed at christening

And this sad story of a baby boy contracting the deadly Herpes virus after being kissed by stranger is the reason why you should never let strangers kiss your baby. Noah Tindle was just four-weeks-old when his mum, Ashleigh White, 21, noticed her son’s right eye has become swollen, blistered and was watering. The devasted 21-year-old mum sought advice from a health visitor, who reassured her it was probably just a blocked tear duct.

But days later, in September last year, Ashleigh spotted blisters forming around Noah's eye again to which she came to find out that her worst fears were, but all true. Fearing that it could be herpes, baby Noah was referred to Barnsley Hospital, where mum Ashleigh again repeated her fears to doctors.

"I'd read something on Facebook about another baby having the virus and the blisters looked exactly the same," she said.

"What I didn't realise is that even if you don't have an active cold sore, you still do carry the virus in your system and saliva, meaning you can never be too careful."

Doctors carried out a series of tests upon Ashleigh's persistence for the fear of the Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1). Test results came back a few days later and the young mother was confirmed with her fears that Noah had indeed contracted the deadly virus.

‘We went to a christening where friends were holding and kissing him – it could have been any of them’ the young mum said.

Now she’s on a mission to spread awareness and warn people not to kiss newborns, who can die from the disease, Ashleigh added, ‘I just want to make more people aware of the risks and consequences of kissing a baby, especially a newborn when you suffer from cold sores as I know how heartbreaking it can be seeing your baby so poorly.

‘Hardly anyone had seen the photos of Noah when he contracted the virus until I posted the pictures online but I thought it was important to spread more awareness.’