{"id":142497,"date":"2025-05-29T22:15:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T22:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/142497\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T22:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T22:15:18","slug":"indiana-boy-8-dies-within-hours-of-catching-terrifying-infection-at-school-that-spread-to-his-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/142497\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana boy, 8, dies within hours of catching terrifying infection at school that spread to his brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

By CONNOR BOYD HEALTH AND SCIENCE EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 16:01 EDT, 29 May 2025 | Updated: 17:57 EDT, 29 May 2025 <\/p>\n

A mother is sharing her grief to warn others about a rare bacterial infection that killed her son within hours.<\/p>\n

Little Liam\u00a0Dahlberg, eight, from Indiana<\/a>, complained of a headache after coming home from school last month \u2014 the next day he was dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was diagnosed with haemophilus influenzae, also known as H. flu<\/a>, which had spread to his brain and spinal cord.<\/p>\n

His mother Ashlee said she felt ‘indescribable pain’ as she lay with Liam during his final moments and the medical team turned off his life support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite sounding like the flu,<\/a> haemophilus influenzae is a bacterium \u2013 not a virus \u2013 and infections are much rarer and deadlier.<\/p>\n

H. flu can live harmlessly in the nose and throat of many healthy people, but under certain conditions \u2014 like a weakened immune system or another viral infection like a cold \u2014 it can get into the bloodstream and cause the body to attack healthy organs.<\/p>\n

Ashlee told local news station\u00a013wmaz<\/a>: ‘I would never wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy ever. It’s hard.\u00a0To have sat there and listened to the doctors say, “You did everything right, there’s just nothing we could do.”<\/p>\n

‘[And] to lay there with him as they took him off life support, I could feel his little heartbeat fade away \u2014 there’s no words that can describe that pain.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Little Liam Dahlberg, eight, from Indiana , complained of a headache after coming home from school last month \u2014 the next day he was dead\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"He <\/p>\n

He was diagnosed with haemophilus influenzae, also known as H. flu , which had spread to his brain and spinal cord\u00a0<\/p>\n

The family is still unsure how Liam caught the infection \u2014 he had been fully vaccinated against H. flu as part of his routine childhood vaccinations.<\/p>\n

The vaccine \u2014 given over three doses to babies \u2014 is about 95 percent effective at preventing infections.<\/p>\n

Yet Liam came home from school unwell in April. When his headache did not subside, his family took him to hospital the following morning.<\/p>\n

Ashlee told local news: ‘They took him to an MRI. That’s when they discovered the amount of bacteria that was covering his brain and spinal cord.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

‘Basically at that point in time, there was nothing they could do.’<\/p>\n

The infection had spread and caused meningitis,\u00a0inflammation of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.<\/p>\n

The damage was so rapid and severe he was declared brain dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a GoFundMe set up to help cover the medical costs, his family described Liam as ‘a bright and smart young boy, full of life and potential.’<\/p>\n

‘His presence brought joy and warmth to everyone he met,’ the page adds.<\/p>\n

Doctors suspect Liam may have suffered a breakthrough infection after catching it from an unvaccinated child at school who was carrying high levels of the bacterium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"His <\/p>\n

His mother Ashlee (pictured together) said she felt ‘indescribable pain’ as she lay with Liam during his final moments and the medical team turned off his life support<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The family is still unsure how Liam caught the infection \u2014 he had been fully vaccinated against H.flu as part of his routine childhood vaccinations<\/p>\n

H. flu lives in the noses of healthy people and spreads when people sneeze or cough.<\/p>\n

Until the rollout of a vaccine in 1985, the infection used to cause\u00a020,000 serious\u00a0 infections per year in the US \u2014 mostly in children under 5.<\/p>\n

Today there are fewer than 50 cases per year in young children \u2014 nearly all in unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated kids.<\/p>\n

But uptake of the shot has fallen in recent years, linked to a broader mistrust of vaccines.<\/p>\n

Ashlee is urging parents to make sure their children are all fully vaccinated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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