CHRISTMAS will be extra special for the parents of 18-month-old Jessica Rose Evans. Just as the festive season got underway, her life was almost snatched away when a mystery virus struck her down in her cot.

A medical team at Hereford County Hospital fought for six hours to save her life.

As her parents Stephen and Maureen watched they worked through the night to keep the toddler, who had seemingly been suffering from nothing worse than a sniffle, alive.

"They were absolutely brilliant. They told us we were very lucky, but really they saved her life," said Stephen.

He has fears that Fijian flu could have been the cause of Jessica's sudden and unexplained illness but it will be two weeks before tests come up with a reason.

"It follows all the symptoms I have seen in cases of Fijian flu but it takes time to grow the cultures in a laboratory to prove it," said Stephen, who works as a medical technical officer at the County Hospital.

The nightmare for Stephen and Maureen started just after midnight the Saturday before last.

Jessica appeared to be sleeping soundly when Stephen made a check, but he was shocked to find her convulsed in the corner of her cot at their home in Trenchard Avenue, Credenhill.

Stephen and Maureen, who drives an Ambulance for Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service, took their daughter straight to the County Hospital.

Stabilised

Jessica had another convulsion, there were fears over brain damage and consultants and doctors spent six hours to stabilise her condition.

Stephen said Jessica was near to death, but like most children she bounced right back. After a day in intensive care she was allowed home and is now back to normal.

"It will be a real good Christmas for us all together, because we nearly didn't have her. We really want to thank all those at the hospital who made it possible," said Stephen.

He advised parents of all young children to keep an extra special watch on them at this time, making more frequent checks when sleeping.

Dr Mike Deakin the county's director of public health said Fijian flu was just one in a long list of flus and was partly protected through vaccines given this Autumn.

Babies were usually protected through their mother's own antibodies but children of Jessica's age would have outgrown these.

There had not been a flu epidemic for two years and it was likely that children like Jessica had never been exposed to the symptoms and had not built up their own immunity.

Each year some children died from flu, but it was extremely rare for this to happen, he said.

Fijian flu did seem to strike quickly where children were concerned but it was unlikely a GP would diagnose it from just a sniffle.

"All you can do is to keep a sharp eye on them," he said.