An Oklahoma toddler reportedly contracted herpes from a daycare center worker, News Channel 4 reports.
After coming home from ChildTime Preschool in Oklahoma City, Consuela Smith noticed that her one-year-old daughter’s mouth was covered in bloody cold sores, according to News Channel 4. Smith took her daughter to the doctor where she was told that her toddler had oral herpes.
“I felt sad as a parent because I feel like I let her down,” Smith said.
The furious mother called the daycare asking how her daughter contracted herpes, and the center’s response was that she probably caught it from one of the preschool’s workers who has the disease.
“Cold sores are normally caused by herpes simplex one virus. They are very easily spread, by kissing, touching and rubbing something else or saliva,” pediatrician Ryan Brown told News Channel 4 about how the toddler could have gotten the disease from the unnamed worker. (RELATED: Two-Year-Old Suspended From Preschool Over Stealth Cheese Sandwich)
When the Oklahoma news outlet contacted the daycare center for comment on the toddler’s oral virus, a worker refused to answer and said that a preschool media specialist should be contacted about the situation. ChildTime’s headquarters, however, later released a statement saying they take precautions to prevent classrooms from becoming breeding grounds for illnesses, and will investigate the herpes case.
“It’s nasty — it’s herpes,” Smith said. “A one-year-old is walking around with herpes.”