Viral meningitis in newborn

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DD was admitted to hospital when she was 10 days old as she hadn't fed for 10 hours, had a temperature and was quite lethargic. The hospital carried out a number of blood tests and a lumbar puncture, all of which came back clear. She was put on IV antibiotics for a week as a precaution and was tube fed for 3 days. Her temperature went up to 38.8 but was controlled with calpol, from what I remember.

After finishing the course of antibiotics we were discharged from hospital. She is, I think, recovering relatively well and is gaining weight. However, a week after leaving hospital we received a letter to say that her lumbar puncture revealed fragments of viral meningitis. Upon receiving the letter we spoke with the consultant whose care she was under (although we didn't see him when in hospital) and he was quite relaxed about her illness and felt that we should not be overly concerned. We have arranged to see him as an outpatient, but our appointment is not until the end of July.

I was therefore wondering if anyone has any first hand experience of viral meningitis in newborns and what, if any, long term implications there are in reality. We (knowing full well that we shouldn't!) initially googled it and, after reading a few horror stories, decided it was best not look any more. We are trying to arrange a hearing test but our local audiology department is not being particularly forthcoming.

Thank you in advance!

Hi, couldn't read and run. Our DS3 had viral meningitis at 4 weeks, suspected bacterial at first but tests eventually came back positive for viral, by which point he'd spent 7 days on IV antibiotics. His temp peaked at 38.8, few symptoms beyond drowsy, grunting and occasionally unsettled. 9 months on, he's a lively, happy, mobile and absolutely unscathed baby - two follow-up appts showed he's tracking development completely normally & the meningitis had no long- term ill effects at all. Hope this reassures you a little - I have to say the one thing I never did (for the first time in my life!) was google - there are some less fortunate cases out there, but most outcomes are much happier.

PS and his audiology tests were 100% normal - keep pressing for them, though, it's important to be reassured

Thank you tinytumble for responding so quickly!

Your DS3's symptoms sound very similar to our DD. Nothing to "out there" (aside from not feeding) but we just had a sense that something wasn't right. But it is good to hear that he is doing well now and that the follow up appointments show no long term ill effects - definitely reassuring.

Out of interest, was your DS3 very sleepy even a number of weeks after seemingly recovering? Our DD is now 6 weeks (which I know is still very early, and she was 2 weeks early) but she is barely awake at all. When she is awake she is alert, which is a good sign, but on average she's only awake for about an hour a day (aside from feeding). Our DS was definitely not as sleepy as this, but it was a couple of years ago so my memory might be playing tricks!

It sounds like she's doing really well. I have to say I don't remember DS being especially sleepy afterwards but he's never been a very sleepy baby (he's currently yelling upstairs after all of 25 mins' sleep). Older DSs much more drowsy as newborns. She might just be recovering from a big immune challenge or perhaps is just one of those sleepy babies.

Thanks tinytumble. It is hard to work out whether her sleepiness is just because, as you say, she's a sleepy baby (and I should therefore be very thankful!) or whether it is related to her meningitis. When I was pregnant she wasn't particularly active so I am hoping it is the former!

And I will definitely press for the audiology test. It would just be nice to know one way or the other. I am not sure whether I can read anything into the fact that she managed to sleep through a whole 45 mins of a toddler music class this morning...!

It is very worthwhile to get in touch with www.meningitis.org/ as they have lots of really useful info and support. They will have lots of advice about the potential longer term effects and what you should watch for and check now.

Glad to hear your little one is on the mend now, but sorry you have had such a shock too.

This happened to a friend's baby shortly after birth. They sensed things were not right with him and took him to hospital where meningitis confirmed. The baby is 2 now and perfect, but it was a scary time for them.

I think one of the most common concerns is over hearing/sight development but the audiology test should be able to highlight any concerns; it's very thorough - took around 45 mins. I have to say all drs were very circumspect about outcome/long-term issues until the meningitis was confirmed as viral and they then seemed to relax considerably, which was reassuring. www.meningitisnow.org have also lots of advice and last week ran a viral awareness campaign. I have a pic of DS1 asleep on a mat on the floor in the middle of a particularly noisy singing class! Take care, like PP said it's a scary time when it happens and sometimes doesn't hit you till later.

Thank you for your responses - they've been very reassuring and have helped ease my mind. And I will definitely have a look at both websites, as we just want to get as much information as we can at this early stage. It's just one of those scary moments where you feel so helpless but hopefully our worries will be over nothing. But it's good to hear from those who have been in a similar situation, so thank you!