Story highlights Mariana Sifrit contracted viral meningitis when she was less than a week old

The baby's parents both tested negative for the virus that led to her death

(CNN) Mariana Sifrit, the infant girl who contracted viral meningitis caused by HSV-1 when she was less than a week old, died Tuesday morning, her mother posted on Facebook.

HSV-1 is the same herpes virus that causes cold sores, and only rarely does it lead to viral meningitis, which causes the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord to become enflamed, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

It is believed that baby Mariana contracted the deadly virus from a kiss. Mariana's parents, Nicole and Shane Sifrit, both tested negative for the virus, they told CNN affiliate WHO.

Nicole and Shane Sifrit welcomed Mariana on July 1.

Just 18 days old when she died, Mariana had spent her last week at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital in Iowa City, suffering from severe medical complications.

"Our princess Mariana Reese Sifrit gained her angel wings at 8:41 am this morning in her daddy's arms and her mommy right beside her," her mother, Nicole Sifrit, posted on her Facebook page. "She is now no longer suffering and is with the Lord."

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