Baby Hospitalised with Meningitis B Despite No Rash Symptoms
An eight-week-old baby was rushed to hospital after developing the deadly meningitis B variant, despite displaying no rash or fever. Little Coralie Wedderburn had just undergone her routine eight-week check-up when she suddenly fell ill, prompting an emergency admission to The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.
Mum Elise and dad Stewart feared the worst as their daughter slipped in and out of consciousness. Medical tests confirmed she had contracted the severe bacterial meningitis B strain, which is the same type responsible for a recent outbreak in Canterbury that claimed two lives last month.
A Mother's Nightmare Unfolds
Elise, a 40-year-old NHS worker and mother-of-six from Herne Bay, Kent, described the experience as "like a nightmare". She revealed: "I don't think it's really sunk in. She had no symptoms at all. No rash, no temperature. It's scary to think what would have happened if we hadn't taken her to get checked."
Coralie and her twin brother William had received their routine vaccinations against meningitis and other ailments during their eight-week check-up on March 26. When Elise noticed Coralie seemed "under the weather" that evening and the following day, she initially assumed it was a common cold or flu and administered Calpol.
The Critical Warning Signs
The situation escalated when Elise got up for a nighttime feeding and observed Coralie consuming only half her bottle. "The next day, she was the same but just had a strange look in her eyes," Elise recalled. "She looked really scared. She was very pale and sleepy. She was looking up at me terrified and something told me she wanted someone to help her."
Despite Coralie's normal temperature and absence of typical meningitis symptoms like rashes, fever, vomiting or severe headaches, Elise trusted her maternal instincts. "I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right," she explained. "I had no idea what it was but because she had had the vaccinations two days before, I was keeping a close eye on her."
Emergency Medical Response
Financial adviser Stewart, 45, immediately took Coralie to a walk-in Urgent Treatment Centre at Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital. A heel prick test revealed dangerously low blood pressure levels, prompting medical staff to call an ambulance for transfer to QEQM Hospital in Canterbury.
Upon arrival at A&E, Coralie spent three critical hours in a resuscitation bay receiving intravenous fluids and antibiotics, repeatedly losing consciousness during the procedure. "Initially in the resus, I feared the worst," Elise admitted. "You could see the panic from the doctors and nurses and obviously, working in a hospital myself, I know the signs. She looked like a completely different baby."
Diagnosis and Treatment
Medical teams conducted a CT scan and X-ray while administering three separate antibiotics and one antiviral medication as they investigated the cause of her illness. "We thought meningitis was the last thing it could be," Elise confessed.
On March 30, following a spinal tap procedure, doctors confirmed Coralie had bacterial meningitis B. "When they told us it was meningitis, I was actually driving and my husband told me to pull over and he told me. We were really shocked," Elise recounted.
Fortunately, the antibiotics began showing positive effects the same day. "She started to look brighter. Every hour I felt like I was seeing more light in her face," Elise described. "From the Wednesday, they said 'we're going to try feeding her' and she managed to take a little bit of milk from the bottle."
Recovery and Ongoing Monitoring
Now eleven weeks old, Coralie has undergone an ultrasound scan on her head and awaits an MRI to assess potential long-term effects. Discharged on Good Friday, she continues her recovery at home, though the source of her infection remains unknown.
"The week before, we didn't really go anywhere," Elise explained. "I'd taken them out for walks in the pram but the only people who had contact with her were family."
Connection to Canterbury Outbreak Ruled Out
Whole Genome Sequencing tests have determined no link between Coralie's illness and the recent Canterbury outbreak that tragically claimed two young lives. The outbreak, which reportedly originated at Club Chemistry nightclub, saw a 21-year-old University of Kent student and 18-year-old sixth former Juliette Kenny from Faversham succumb to meningitis.
Following the identification of the first case on March 13, tens of thousands of antibiotics and vaccines were distributed throughout the affected area. The UK Health Security Agency announced on March 26 that the outbreak appeared to have been contained with no new cases reported.
Elise's experience serves as a crucial reminder that meningitis B can present without the classic rash symptom, emphasizing the importance of trusting parental instincts and seeking immediate medical attention when concerns arise about a child's health.
