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Rare Bacterial Infection Strikes 2 Infants in New Mexico

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

State and national health officials are investigating how two babies in New Mexico became infected by Enterobacter sakazakii, a bacteria that has been associated in the past with powdered infant formula.

One of the kids, a 7-month-old boy from Holloman Air Force Base in Otero County, died Nov. 11 at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, N.M. The other, a female infant from Lea County, has been hospitalized, newspapers in the state have reported.

The rare infections -- there are only 120 recorded cases throughout the world of all age groups -- are being probed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), theU.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator and the New Mexico Environment Department.

Air Force Col. Jeffrey Harrigian told the El Paso Times that experts conducted extensive tests at the military base and interviewed the deceased baby's family. A press release from the New Mexico Department of Health said lab tests showed that the two babies were sickened by different strains of Enterobacter sakazakii, also known as E. sakazakii, But the release said both infants had consumed powdered milk as part of their respective diets.

According to past CDC writings about E. sakazakii, infections are rare but can be very serious, sometimes leading to menengitis -- an infection of spinal fluid and of membranes surrounding the brain. Infants are the most susceptible.

Pritzker | Ruohonen & Associates, P.A. is one of the few law firms in the United States that practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. The firm has collected millions of dollars on behalf of victims of E. coli poisoning and other foodborne illnesses. For more information, visit http://www.pritzkerlaw.com  or contact Fred Pritzker at (612) 338-0202. Pritzker | Ruohonen has offices are located at Plaza VII, Suite 2950, 45 South Seventh Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402   

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on December 03, 2008 (boomark / email).