Tragedy as boy, 8, dies hours after getting infection that spread to his brain and spine

A young boy who suffered a headache at school tragically died of a horror infection just hours after complaining about the symptom.

Liam Dahlberg, 8, from Indiana,, came home from class in April and felt unwell. But it wasn't until the following morning that his mum became concerned.

His mother, Ashlee Dahlberg, raced him to where she was told that "there’s just nothing we could do", after delivering her a devastating diagnosis. Liam had picked up a bacterial infection called Haemophilus influenzae type b, also known as “H. flu” or “Hib.”

Most children are vaccinated against the deadly as a baby, but it is still possible to become infected by it, warned doctors. His mother spoke to local media and said: “Anybody that contracts it usually dies within 24 hours."

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Shocking test results from an MRI revealed that the infection had worsened, spreading to his brain and spinal cord. "Basically, at that point in time, there was nothing they could do,” his mum said. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the infection can travel through respiratory droplets and can stay dormant in healthy people, .

However, anyone who experiences a low immune system, could see the infection enter the bloodstream - which later can spread to vital organs. Dr. Eric Yancy, a paediatrician in Indianapolis, stressed how quickly Hib can harm patients. “If it didn’t kill the children within a very short period of time, it left many of them with significant complications,” he told 13WMAZ.

Despite Liam being vaccinated against the infection, he could have contracted it from someone who wasn't protected. The poor eight-year-old died less than 24 hours after enduring a headache. His mother revealed how she felt his "little heartbeat fade away" before his death. She added: "I would never wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy ever. It’s hard.

“To have sat there and listened to the doctors say, ‘You did everything right, there’s just nothing we could do,’ to lay there with him as they took him off life support, I can feel his little heartbeat fade away — there’s no words that can describe that pain.”