Baby suffers stroke after being exposed to chicken pox through unvaccinated sibling

The 11-month-old baby contracted the viral infection from his siblings.

As reported by the Journal of Pediatrics, the mother of the unimmunized boy noticed that his arm and leg seemed weak when he awoke from a nap.

She took him to a care center for evaluation. Read more on our Twitter account, @amomama_usa.

Doctors found that the baby had decreased strength in his upper and lower extremities, as well as decreased movement.

They also confirmed "right-sided facial weakness," and noticed a "lack of right-sided support" when he was placed in a sitting position.

Further tests revealed that he had a cerebral artery stroke and that his siblings had chickenpox a few months earlier.

It was deduced that the baby had contracted chickenpox from his siblings. They explained that "the median time between rash onset [...] and stroke was 16 weeks."

Children who had been vaccinated were not reported to experience a stroke, and the records showed that the risk of a stroke in children increased four times in those 16 weeks.

Dr. Tina Tan from the Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine warned parents against the infection, saying: "everyone thinks it's a minor illness."

She explained that there could be "serious complications and added:

"The chickenpox virus infects the large blood vessels in the brain and causes inflammation in them. The blood vessels can scar, and that can decrease blood supply to the brain, which can lead to stroke.”

Apart from experiencing a life-threatening stroke, children are also at risk of contracting herpes zoster, or shingles, which could lead to heart attacks.

It's described as a "souvenir of childhood chicken pox," and affects approximately 1 million Americans every year.

It could lead to a stroke or heart attack when the virus replicates itself in the artery walls, which in turns causes a fatty buildup to break off.

The singer Pink and her husband were shamed last month for posting a photo of their one-year-old son's rash on Instagram.

James had the "Hand-foot-and-mouth" viral infection and had a rash over his legs, arms, and face.