Mum whose baby almost died after she caught measles is trolled over her MMR jab plea
Watching her daughter lying in her cot, unresponsive, battling a soaring temperature and covered in red blotches, Jilly Moss knew Alba was gravely ill.
Mrs Moss' concerns were compounded by the fact that her tiny girl, who had celebrated her first birthday just days earlier, had yet to be given a series of vaccinations to bolster her fledgling immune system.
Hours later Alba was diagnosed with measles and her parents told she faced a risk of dying.
At less that one-year-old, Alba had been too young to receive the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination which could have offered her protection.
Luckily the little girl pulled through, but doctors at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital said Alba had contracted the virus after coming into contact with someone who was not vaccinated.
After watching her daughter battle the illness over 10 days earlier in April, Mrs Moss shared her daughter's story and pictures on social media, but was trolled by anti-vaxxers (those opposed to vaccinations) as she urged other parents to vaccinate their children against the harmful illness.
What are the signs and symptoms of measles and how can children and adults be vaccinated?
More than 500,000 UK children unprotected against measles after missing vaccinations
''I have been taken aback by the hate messages and emails," Ms Moss told ITV News.
"People have said Alba is a fake baby, a doll, and they've said the story is fake news and that I'm an actress.
"All I am trying to do is help other mums and dads.''
Mrs Moss said the negative comments were subsequently removed by Facebook.
In her post, Mrs Moss had shared a series of photos of Alba in hospital as she was treated, alongside them she posted about how her daughter had been ''scanned, X-rayed, poked, prodded, bloods taken, lumbar punctures done, canulars fitted, swabs taken, an ECG done, observations carried out every 20 mins, being tube fed, on a drip, oxygen, pumped full of drugs, anti inflammatory pain relief antibiotics - you name it she’s had it.''
Going on to urge her followers to "get your children vaccinated... we need to do more people".
She added how it had "been absolutely horrific watching our daughter fight this [measles] with her eyes swollen shut for four days.
"She has been in the dark, scared with a high fever that lasted for over two weeks."
Alba had first started to become ill towards the end of March, but Ms Moss then endured two weeks of going back and forth to doctors before Alba's measles diagnosis.
''I'm an educated person, but I didn't know that Alba could have died after contracting measles," Mrs Moss said.
''It was a very distressing time for us.
"I felt other parents needed to know about the dangers of not vaccinating their children - what Alba went through could have been prevented if the protection layer of older kids above Alba had been vaccinated.''
On Thursday, Unicef released worrying figures which reveal that between 2010 and 2017, more than half a million youngsters in the UK were not vaccinated against measles.
The head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, has warned the trend for vaccine refusal, fuelled by scare stories about the MMR jab, is now a “growing public health timebomb".
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also revealed he will be speaking to social media companies urging them to act on anti-vax posts - and may even look to legislate on the matter.
Mrs Moss said it was an A&E doctor at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital who urged her to post Alba's pictures and story in a bid to get other parents to vaccinate their children.
"I just want people to know about the dangers," Ms Moss said.
"There are a lot of people out there who don't vaccinate and the MMR jab has had so much negative publicity.
"It's important that mums and dads know that vaccinations can help.''
Alba was discharged from hospital less than two weeks ago and Ms Moss said she is grateful to have her home.
Doctors have assured her Alba will be fine but Mrs Moss said: ''I still feel scared, I am on tenterhooks around Alba and so worried because of what happened but we know we are so lucky.
''It has made us realise how important it is to educate yourself about the dangers of measles - it's just not talked about enough.''