A mum has shared heart-breaking photos of her baby son lying in hospital to warn people about the dangers of kissing newborns.
Ariana DiGrigorio, from New Jersey, says her son Antonio was left fighting for his life when he was just eight months old after he was kissed by a relative and ended up with the flu.
She is now speaking to stop others from doing the same, warning: "Don't be the reason a baby is hospitalised or dead because the baby was 'just so cute I had to kiss her'."
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Antonio, who is now one, was taken to hospital last December, after staff at his daycare centre rang Ariana to tell her he seemed unwell.
Ariana took him to Jersey Shore University Medical Centre to have him checked over by doctors, where he was diagnosed with flu and tested for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which came back negative.
However, two months later he was still struggling with a cough, runny nose and congestion - so Ariana decided to take him back to the hospital.
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This time a test for RSV came back positive - the virus is common but can be fatal to babies and young children who don't have strong immune systems. It can travel from person to person via snot, mucus or salvia.
Little Antonio was whisked away to the intensive care unit where he was hooked up to a number of machines, including a respiratory ventilator as he struggled to breath on his own.
Speaking to Good Morning America, Ariana said "Before he was transferred into the ICU he was in a regular room and he went into respiratory failure.
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"They said he was doing better with Albuterol breathing treatments they were giving him and then it went downhill from there."
Ariana believes he ended up with RSV after he contracted flu, which left him with a weakened immune system.
Thankfully, Antonio fought back, and has since been released from hospital but he still has to see a specialist respiratory physician every few months to keep an eye on his progress.
Ariana is now urging others not to kiss young babies, posting on Facebook to say: "Please keep your mouths/breaths away from a baby's face, hands and feet.
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"Don't be selfish. Don't kiss babies. It's not worth it.
"It's super awkward as a parent to have to tell someone (especially a family member or friend) to step away from your baby.
"It's also super difficult to stop someone from kissing your child after they're already going in for the kiss."
Featured Image Credit: Ariana DiGrigorio and Nicholas DiGrigorio Jr.Topics: US News