Claire Henderson’s daughter, Brooke, was born about a month ago and, like with many babies, she’s had many well-wishers over to meet the baby.

It’s a good thing she did: Doctors diagnosed the child with the oral herpes virus and immediately began treatment.

With 85 per cent of the population carrying the virus, Claire said, sometimes people might be contagious even if they do not look as though they have a cold sore – and as newborns cannot fight off the virus, it can prove fatal.

With them, she explained how a person with no visible signs of cold sores gave them to her baby Brooke by getting close to her. In babies, that virus can be fatal. I noticed the signs early and got her to A&E, we have now been in hospital on a drip for [three] days and have got another [two] to go.

A new mum has issued a warning to all pregnant and postnatal women about the dangers of letting visitors kiss their newborns, after her daughter ended up in hospital. She was VERY lucky, all her tests came back clear.

Claire Henderson, a new mom from Doncaster, England, posted the above shocking photos to Facebook on September 16.

Dr Peter Greenhouse, a consultant in sexual health based in Bristol and a representative of the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASSH), said that if a mother has come into contact with the herpes virus then her baby will be immune for the first year after birth.

However, for an infant under 6 weeks old, it can cause permanent damage to the brain and liver if it gets into the bloodstream, with the potential to turn into a fatal strand of meningitis.

Henderson wants mothers to know to “not let anyone kiss near [the] newborn’s mouth”, and to avoid the scare that she was put through.

Cold sores…sure, they are a nuisance and slightly unattractive, but did you know they could be deadly?