San Diego County health officials issued a warning regarding a line of baby formula products that have been linked to a nationwide outbreak of infant botulism.
Parents and retailers have been urged to dispose of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula, which have been linked to 37 cases in 17 states, including California. The formula's maker, ByHeart, issued a voluntary recall of its products in early November.
County health officials say they have been working since the recall was announced to ensure ByHeart products aren't on the shelves of local businesses.
While no botulism cases have been reported in San Diego County and health officials say there haven't been reports of ByHeart formula's continued sale in the county, officials urged anyone who still had unopened formula at home to discard it.
"It is really important that parents and caregivers check their baby's formula and stop using any ByHeart formula products immediately," County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan said. "The FDA has received reports that some products could have remained on the shelves in multiple states so now is the time to double-check and discard any formula from this brand."
Anyone whose infant has already taken some of the formula was asked to photograph or record information on the package, including brand and lot number, seal the package, label it "do not use," and store it for 30 days in case health officials sought to test the formula.
Infant botulism typically affects babies younger than 6 months and can cause difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis and even death. Other symptoms include constipation and neurologic symptoms such as poor feeding, weak crying, loss of head control and difficulty swallowing.
Symptoms can appear up to three days after exposure, but normally take 10 to 30 days.
Anyone whose infant experiences symptoms after being fed ByHeart formula was advised to seek medical attention immediately.
