British mothers warn of deadly lung disease that turned their babies GREY… and they urge pregnant women to get RSV vaccine to combat it

British women who lost their newborn babies to a fatal lung disease have called on expectant mothers to get vaccinated against the disease.

As part of a new NHS service, pregnant women who are more than 28 weeks pregnant and women aged 75 to 79 can now be routinely vaccinated against the lung infection respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for the first time.

RSV is responsible for 20 to 30 deaths in children each year in the UK. Last year also saw an 11 per cent spike in cases compared to the previous winter.

And mothers have spoken of their grief, with one losing her three-month-old baby just weeks after contracting the common respiratory disease.

Another shared how their healthy two-week-old baby turned “cold and gray” within days.

However, according to a recent analysis, the introduction of the vaccinations would prevent 15,000 emergency room visits in infants and 5,000 hospitalizations per season.

A mother whose baby died after contracting RSV said that anyone who has had RSV, Patients who have been in intensive care during the winter would ‘definitely take the RSV vaccine’.

Three-month-old Rumer was born with the rare genetic condition Edwards syndrome, also known as trisomy 18.

But she died in 2015, when she was only three months old, from complications of the virus.

Edwards syndrome occurs when a baby has three copies of chromosome number 18, instead of the usual two. This severely disrupts their development.

The condition is thought to affect one in every 6,000 to 8,000 births worldwide.

Helen Roper, Rumer’s mother, who now lives in Newport, told the BBC: ‘The vaccine protects every baby, but it saves the lives of babies with serious underlying conditions.

‘(Rumer) wasn’t the only child with serious underlying conditions to die that season.

‘Given her already compromised lungs, she probably wouldn’t have had a long, healthy life, but she might have been able to live another year.

“The vaccine protects every baby, but it saves the lives of babies with serious underlying conditions.”

However, Ethyan Gammage, from Larkhall in Lanarkshire, had no underlying conditions.

Despite being born six weeks premature, he appeared to be in good health until he developed a cold and cough on July 12 of this year.

After a check-up by a doctor who confirmed that his stats were okay, the family returned home. But by 3:00 PM that same day, his breathing had become irregular.

In a panic, his mother Fiona Walker, 41, and father Mark Gammage, 44, called 999. Emergency services arrived 17 minutes later.

Yet the toddler in this day and age was no longer responsive and ‘cold and gray’.

Paramedics administered oxygen to the home before transporting Ethyan to University Hospital Wishaw using a blue light.

Here he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis, caused by RSV. After two stable nights in the hospital, his body began to struggle to continue to fight the infection.

At the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow he was put into an induced coma and put on a ventilator in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Ethyan lives in Scotland, where pregnant women were vaccinated against the virus in August this year.

But because he was born six weeks premature, he missed the deadline.

Cafe owner Walker said: ‘I had never heard of RSV before Ethyan got it.

‘Now I never lose sight of him and I constantly put my hand on him to feel if he is warm, because I remember how cold he was.

‘It has completely traumatized us.

‘I want to raise awareness about RS virus and the vaccine because I wouldn’t want another mother to go through the same thing I did.

‘I have a phobia of needles, but I would still get vaccinated. And everyone should too.’

After three days, Ethyan was able to take a few breaths on his own, and as he grew stronger, it got better every day.

Eventually he started drinking his bottle again and on July 22 he was discharged.

Ms Walker said after the shock that Ethyan was “absolutely perfect” but that both she and Mr Gammage suffered from PTSD symptoms.

RSV is a common cause of coughs and colds. For most healthy people, it is a mild illness, with symptoms similar to those of a cold. However, the infection can be dangerous for the elderly and very young children.

The virus spreads through large droplets and can survive on surfaces for up to seven hours.

Once in the body, it can lead to serious infections and breathing problems, such as pneumonia.

The virus is also thought to contribute to mortality among the elderly, as it attacks the lungs and reduces the amount of oxygen the body receives, causing heart failure.

The NHS vaccination campaign is part of the winter vaccination plans, which also include the Covid and flu vaccines.

As in previous years, people from vulnerable groups and the staff who care for them are also eligible for these vaccines.

People can get their flu shot and the Covid shot on the same day, but people who are also eligible for the RSV vaccine should wait at least a day between shots to maximize their effectiveness.

While preventing serious RSV infections is a benefit in itself, health officials also hope the vaccinations will reduce the pressure on NHS services overall over the winter.

People who are eligible for the RSV vaccination are expected to be invited via their GP. In the case of a pregnant woman, this is possible via their midwife.