Mom passed on deadly virus with kiss

LANCASTER, England, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- An inquest has determined that a newborn girl died in Britain from herpes simplex inadvertently passed to her by her mother with a loving kiss.

Ruth Schofield, 35, was infected with the virus late in her pregnancy, doctors said. They believe she had never encountered the virus before and thus did not have antibodies to pass on to her newborn, Jennifer, The Telegraph reports.

Jennifer was 11 days old when she died in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in December 2006.

Herpes simplex is an inconvenience for adults but can be deadly for babies. In Jennifer's case, it caused major organ failure.

Dr. James Adeley, who presided at the inquest, said neither Jennifer's family nor the healthcare workers who treated her should feel responsible for her death.

Schofield has become a campaigner to give new mothers more information about herpes simplex, which kills about six children a year in Britain.

"The pain for a mother losing a child is the most painful thing anybody can go through," she said. "It is one that stays with you for life."