Five-Month-Old Boy Fights For Life After Contracting Meningococcal Disease

A five-month-old boy had been in critical condition after being initially misdiagnosed with ear infection until his lips turned grey and revealed he contracted meningococcal disease.

Archie Roberts was first thought to have an ear infection, but when his parents, Josh Roberts and Katelyn Galea, noticed his lips turned grey, they knew something was wrong.

Fearing for his life, Archie’s parents rushed him last Thursday night from Greenbank, southwest of Brisbane, to Ipswich Hospital where he was diagnosed with the deadly meningococcal disease.

In photos posted on Mr Roberts’ Facebook page, Archie can be seen in a hospital bed at Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Hospital, with tubes taped to his mouth, an IV drip in his wrist, ECG electrodes stuck to his chest and his legs, stomach and hands covered in rashes. He wrote:

“Meningococcal. You hit my son yesterday like a wrecking ball but he came straight back at you like a d11 bulldozer.

“Meningococcal. You have met your match Arch is going to beat you and he is going to come out on the other side with a big smile on his face.”

Mr Roberts told AAP: “It’s a six-week recovery. They think it will be a full recovery but he may lose a couple of fingertips.”

He says it’s unclear how Archie caught the disease. “He’s a breastfed baby, never been in child care and has always been very healthy,” he said.

Thankfully, Archie’s condition is improving and on Tuesday, he was taken off life support. His mother, Katelyn shared a touching video of baby Archie as he woke. She captioned it: “My baby is waking up!!!!!!!!! Archie, mummy and daddy couldn’t be any more prouder. You are the true definition of a fighter. I love you.”

Victorian Government’s Better Health channel states that: “Meningococcal bacteria live naturally in the back of the nose and throat in about 10 per cent of the population without causing illness. In a small number of people, a particular strain of the bacteria gets through the lining of the throat, enters the bloodstream and causes invasive meningococcal disease.

“The infection can develop very quickly. If infection is diagnosed early enough and the right antibiotics are given quickly, most people make a complete recovery. Even with antibiotic treatment, invasive meningococcal disease causes death in about five to 10 per cent of cases.”

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk and Kidspot.com.au