Saturday 1 February 2014
A teenager is being forced to attend an all-boys school because he is dangerous to women - at least if they're pregnant.
Bryant Hackett, 14, has been diagnosed with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and has been told by medics he is to avoid close contact with expectant women for the foreseeable future.
Although the virus is not causing Bryant to suffer any symptoms, it could be harmful if contracted by a pregnant woman.
He is even unable to have any contact with his sister Terri Wooton, 20, who is expecting a baby in a few weeks’ time.
Bryant, of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, said: ‘I miss my sister a lot and can’t wait until she gives birth. She is due in a few weeks.’
Bryant was diagnosed with the virus in July of last year after a rare strain of hepatitis he believes he picked up while on holiday in Majorca left him with a catalogue of health problems.
It caused him to develop liver failure and end up a with a blood platelet count of just four – the normal level is between 150 and 400.
He suffered bone marrow failure and had to have two bone marrow transplants which first required him to have chemotherapy to clear his existing bone marrow.
He was left with a weakened immune system, which caused him to contract pneumonia which his mother says almost killed him.
After undergoing the bone marrow transplants last year, he spent five months in isolation in the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, receiving chemotherapy.
Following his recovery, he had been due to start at a co-ed school.
However, after doctors told him he was suffering from CMV, which is harmful to unborn babies, he has been forced to attend a boys-only school instead.
CMV is a common virus that is part of the herpes family of viruses.
It causes few symptoms in most people and so most do not know they are infected.
Once someone has been infected, the virus stays in their body for the rest of their life without usually causing problems.
However, it can sometimes cause symptoms if a person has a weakened immune system, for example, if they are having chemotherapy.
CMV can also cause serious problems if a woman becomes infecting during pregnancy as this can lead to hearing loss and learning difficulties in the baby.
