The Philippines’ Youngest Covid-19 Survivor Baby Kobe Passed Away

Neither Manjares nor the doctors could trace how or where the newborn contracted the coronavirus. Manjares, Noche, Crystal and the birth attendant all tested negative.

But Kobe got better; he was declared virus-free based on another test when he was just over two-weeks-old. His constipation and enlarged abdomen also cleared up.

The baby's discharge from the National Children’s Hospital on April 28 made news.

Video footage recorded that day shows Kobe in his father’s arms and surrounded by cheering health workers, some carrying signs reading “Covid-19 survivor” and “I Beat Covid-19.”

The two would need to spend 14 days in quarantine at another hospital, but a relieved Manjares already looked beyond the confinement period.

"I was very happy then because we were going home. My family will finally see my son, my youngest,” he recalled.

The family’s joy turned out to be short-lived. Three days later, Kobe was back at National Children’s Hospital with a swollen belly.

His mother accompanied him this time so she could continue breastfeeding.

Still quarantined himself, Manjares borrowed a neighbor’s cellphone for video calls with his son and partner during the month they remained at the hospital.

A biopsy showed that Kobe suffered from Hirschsprung disease, a rare birth defect that prevents stool from moving through the large intestine. It is usually treated with surgery, but the blockage can lead to a dangerous bacterial infection.

That's what happened with Kobe. His doctors were working to manage the infection so the baby would be stable enough for surgery when Kobe's condition rapidly deteriorated.

The baby died on June 4, less than two months after he was born.

The director of the National Children’s Hospital told a local broadcaster the cause of death was sepsis, the overactive immune system response to an infection that can cause fatal tissue and organ damage.

It’s unclear if Covid-19 exacerbated the progression of the Hirschsprung disease or the complications the baby experienced.

Data provided by the Philippines Department of Health showed that as of July 23, there have been 272 Covid-19 cases among infants, 12 of whom have died.