Newborn baby dies after RSV infection, Georgia family says. ‘Our sweet girl’
After a monthslong battle with RSV, a Georgia newborn has died, her family announced.
Lilliah LaShay Shirley was born on Oct. 28 in Dahlonega, Georgia, a town nestled in the Appalachians north of Atlanta.
Lilliah was the first child of Casey and Taylor Shirley, who said their baby girl was “an answered prayer,” according to an obituary posted by their family.
One month after Lilliah entered the world, her health took a turn.
At 7 weeks old, Lilliah tested positive for RSV and rhinovirus on Nov. 28, her family said in Facebook group “Lilly Strong.”
Her body had an excess of fluid and she was placed on a ventilator, her mom said, but Lilliah’s progress was slow.
“They told us the next 24 hours (are) very crucial,” Taylor Shirley wrote on Dec. 16. “Of course no parent wants to hear those words or the words that your child is one of the sickest kids in Georgia.”
Lilliah saw progress, but then experienced a bleed near her brain, resulting in seizures, her family said, before she was placed in a medically induced coma on New Year’s Eve.
Two days later, on Jan. 2, Lilliah died.
“Although she was only two months old, she touched many lives and left an everlasting impact on everyone who was fortunate enough to know her,” her family wrote in her obituary.
RSV on the rise
The Shirleys were just one family impacted by rising cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, approaching the winter months.
The virus, which causes cold-like symptoms, can be deadly in newborns and older people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When the virus was detected in Lilliah, she was one of more than 2,000 Georgians fighting off the illness, CDC data showed.
RSV begins, for many, as a runny nose, fever and cough, typically appearing in stages, the CDC says.
Most children have had an RSV infection by the time they are 2 years old, the CDC says, but the infection typically goes away on its own in a week or two.
That’s not the case for everyone.
“RSV can be dangerous for infants and young children. Each year in the United States, an estimated 58,000-80,000 children younger than 5 years are hospitalized due to RSV infection,” the CDC says.
This past year was no different. According to CDC data, nearly 50,000 RSV cases were detected in December alone nationally.
How to prevent RSV infections
The symptoms make it hard to distinguish from other respiratory illnesses like influenza and COVID-19, both of which see case spikes in the fall and winter.
However, for the first time, there is a vaccine available for the prevention of RSV, and it’s recommended for babies.
The CDC recommends the vaccine for people who are between 32 and 36 weeks pregnant from September to January. Receiving the vaccine during that stage of pregnancy will provide protection for your infant for up to six months, when they are most vulnerable.
Babies can also be vaccinated when they are younger than 8 months, the CDC says, and the agency recommends the vaccination for infants born during the RSV season.
An additional dose is recommended by the CDC for children in their second RSV season, ages 8 to 19 months, if they have a lung condition, are immunocompromised, have cystic fibrosis or are part of the American Indian and Alaska Native ethnicities.
RSV vaccine locations can be found here.
This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Newborn baby dies after RSV infection, Georgia family says. ‘Our sweet girl’."
