AN 11-day-old baby almost died after contracting herpes from a “kiss of death”.

Lucy Kendall, 23, knew there was something wrong with her newborn son Oliver Miller after he started refusing to feed.

She quickly took him to hospital where after a “horrendous eight days” he was finally herpes simplex virus-1 virus.

Lucy, and her partner Jaz Miller, 25, are sharing Oliver’s story in a bid to raise awareness of the dangers of kissing children if you have a cold sore.

Lucy, of Hull, East Yorks., said: “We were told the symptoms were from a virus called the kiss of death - but it can be from touch as well.

“It was just heart breaking for us all when we found out after eight days what was wrong with Oliver.

"We don't know how he managed to get it, we were just shocked and couldn't understand where he picked it up from - the virus is so contagious.”

Lucy, who gave birth to Oliver via emergency c-section on August 3, said it was touch and go to whether he would survive after contracting the virus.

She had noticed small “freckle” on his back at three days old and then one appeared on his belly while he was in hospital.

Lucy says even her health visitor said the freckles were fine and nothing to worry about - but it later turned out to be a result of the herpes virus.

Doctors didn't know what was wrong with poorly Oliver for eight days until a swab of the freckles, which had by this point blistered and popped, tested positive for the virus.

“I thought Oliver wasn't adapting well to the new formula milk we had got,” she said.

“So my partner Jaz went to Asda at 3am to get the other box - but he still wasn't feeding.

“My mother's instinct then kicked in and because I felt Oliver was dehydrated I decided to take him to hospital.

“Me and Jaz sat in the emergency room and just cried because we thought Oliver was going to die.”

Oliver was given platelet transfusions as his blood count was dropping and was continuously having tests done to check for sepsis and other viruses.

He spent a total of 21 days in hospital before he was eventually allowed to back to his home.

But the tot will still have to undergo tests to see if the virus has spread to the brain - which could cause meningitis.

He will also have to take antibiotics for the next six months to help fight the virus.

“We felt like the luckiest parents in the world - we now want to make sure people understand how this can be contracted - not just by kisses,” she said.

“I want to make people aware and to please respect new borns and stay away if you have a cold sore.

“I had read about the herpes virus while I was pregnant, and neither myself and my partner have it, or cold sores, so were really shocked.

“The doctor explained the herpes simplex virus-1 can be passed onto a newborn baby if a person has a cold sore and kisses the baby or touches the baby after touching the cold sore.

“Cold sores are at their most contagious when they burst, but they remain contagious until completely healed.”

The herpes virus can easily be passed onto babies and toddlers through something as simple as a kiss, and can prove fatal.

Herpes is a common infection caused by the herpes simplex virus, which causes painful blisters on the mouth or on the genitals, which is passed on by sexual contact.

It is a chronic long-term condition, which can become active again.

There are two types of herpes - HSV 1 and HSV 2 - which enter the body through the moist skin of the mouth, penis, vagina and rectum.

Both types can cause cold sores on the mouth, genital herpes, whitlows (small abscesses) on the fingers and hands.

Herpes is especially dangerous for babies under six months old and newborn babies because their immune systems are still developing.

Neonatal herpes is a herpes infection in a newborn baby.

It's caused by the highly contagious herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores and genital ulcers in adults.

Sometimes neonatal herpes only affects a baby's eyes, mouth or skin. If this is the case most babies will recover with antiviral treatment.

The condition is much more serious if it spreads to the baby's organs - almost a third of babies with this type of neonatal herpes will die, even if they receive treatment.