A 2-month-old baby in England has died in a tragic story after his father literally gave him a kiss of death.

The Daily Mail reported Monday that Kaiden Maclaren’s tiny body shut down after catching a cold sore virus from his father, Carl.

The baby was on life support for six weeks, but doctors weren’t able to save him. He was pronounced dead at only 2 months old.

His parents, who live in Bootle, Merseyside, near Liverpool, were stunned to find out their precious child had been diagnosed with herpes simplex. It’s a virus most people carry, but it normally lies dormant.

Mother Marrie-Claire McCormick, 28, told the British news site:

“I asked how it was possible for a baby to have herpes?

“When he said it was transmitted via the cold sore virus I looked at Carl and he instinctively touched his lip. In that moment I saw his heart break in two.”

The premature baby died of multiple organ failure after being infected with the virus, his mother told the Daily Mail.

“Carl just broke down. He was totally distraught and kept saying he blamed himself.”

The grieving mother added, “But I never once blamed Carl. All he had ever done was shower our baby with love and affection. He had been the perfect father. I hated seeing him punish himself.”

But still her husband, a 34-year-old painter, can’t help but place blame on himself.

He told the news site:

“I blame myself, but I had no idea. Obviously if I had I wouldn't have gone near him, and he'd still be here today.”

Their five-week premature son, Kaiden, was born on March 28 of last year and died May 24.

McCormick explained:

“We were smitten with him. He looked the image of his daddy with a shock of dark hair and blue eyes.

“It was our dream come true to be home together as a family.”

Kaiden was just two weeks old when he stopped eating. His parents rushed him to the hospital when he turned blue one day and stopped breathing. Doctors told the couple their child was unlikely to survive.

Maclaren said, "I pleaded with them to do something else, he was only two weeks old. We couldn’t give up."

Kaiden was kept on life support for six weeks, but after he began to suffer from seizures, doctors suggested the parents turn it off.

McCormick told the Daily Mail:

“We were told there was no hope and as a mother you want to protect your baby from suffering so we made the hardest decision of our lives.

“We gave permission for the permission to be switched off so he could go to sleep. He was handed to me and I cuddled him and held him as he slipped away.

”I kissed him and told him how much I loved him and how good it felt to hold him in my arms again as he fell asleep for the last time.”

Nearly a year later, McCormick is pregnant with a baby girl.

She said: “She is our reason to live again. But I will never get over losing my son Kaiden.

“He would have been a fantastic big brother if he hadn’t been taken by a kiss. No baby should ever die because of a kiss.”

United kingdom Medicine