Wal-Mart pulls formula after baby dies in Missouri

Published : Dec 23, 2011 - 11:07 Updated : Dec 23, 2011 - 11:07

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Wal-Mart and health officials awaited tests Thursday on a batch of powdered infant formula that was removed from more than 3,000 stores nationwide after a Missouri newborn who consumed it apparently died from a rare infection.

The source of the bacteria that caused the infection has not been determined, but it occurs naturally in the environment and in plants such as wheat and rice. The most worrisome appearances have been in dried milk and powdered formula, which is why manufacturers routinely test for the germs.

This photo provided Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, by the Holman Howe Funeral Home, shows Avery Cornett of Lebanon, Mo., who died Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP)

Wal-Mart pulled the Enfamil Newborn formula from shelves as a precaution following the death of little Avery Cornett in the southern Missouri town of Lebanon.

The formula has not been recalled, and the manufacturer said tests showed the batch was negative for the bacteria before it was shipped. Additional tests were under way.

"We decided it was best to remove the product until we learn more," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Dianna Gee said. "It could be returned to the shelves."

Customers who bought formula in 12.5-ounce cans with the lot number ZP1K7G have the option of returning them for a refund or exchange, Gee said.

The product is not exclusive to Wal-Mart. The manufacturer, Mead Johnson Nutrition, declined to answer questions about whether formula from that batch was distributed to other stores.

"We're highly confident in the safety and quality of our products," said Christopher Perille, a spokesman for the company based in the Chicago suburb of Glenview.

A second infant fell ill late last month after consuming several different types of powdered baby formula, but that child recovered, health officials said.

Powdered infant formula is not sterile, and experts have said there are not adequate methods to completely remove or kill all bacteria that might creep into formula before or during production.

Preliminary hospital tests indicated that Avery died of a rare infection caused by bacteria known as Cronobacter sakazakii. The infection can be treated with antibiotics, but it's deemed extremely dangerous to babies less than 1 month old and those born premature.

The bacteria are "pervasive in the environment," Perille said. "There's a whole range of potential sources on how this infection may have got started."

A spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration said the agency is investigating the death, along with the Centers for Disease Control and the Missouri Department of Health. Investigators have collected samples from the family and are testing unopened formula purchased at stores.

Siobhan Delancey said the FDA gets four to six reports a year of infant infections related to formula and has not found a powder that tested positive since 2002.

The FDA is also investigating the other case of illness, which involved a baby from Illinois whose case was reported in neighboring Missouri. But the agency does not believe there is any connection between the two, Delancey said.

Public health investigators will look at the formula itself, as well as the water used in preparing it and at anything else the baby might have ingested, Perille said.

Only two to three cases a year are reported. New Mexico saw two in 2008, including one infant who died and another who suffered severe brain damage. A Tennessee infant died in 2001 after being infected.

It could be several days before test results are available.

The family submitted two types of infant formula for testing — the powdered version and a pre-sterilized, ready-to-eat liquid — as well as the distilled water used to prepare the powdered product.

"We're just trying to test anything that was consumed by the baby," Laclede County Health Director Charla Baker said.

Avery was taken to a pediatrician Dec. 15 — a week after he was born — after showing signs of stomach pain and lethargy. When the pain persisted the next day, his parents took him to an emergency room.

He died Sunday at a hospital in Springfield after being removed from life support.

The Missouri Department of Health advised parents to follow safety guidelines for preparing powdered infant formula, including washing hands, sterilizing all feeding equipment in hot, soapy water and preparing enough formula for only one feeding at a time.

A flood of calls from worried parents prompted Missouri officials to clarify that the formula pulled by Wal-Mart is not being provided to participants in the Women, Infants and Children federal program for low-income parents.

<한글기사>

美 '엔파밀' 분유먹은 신생아 사망

미국의 최대 유통업체 '월마트'가 전국 3천여매장 진열대에서 유아용 조제분유 '엔파밀'을 일제히 내렸다.

22일(현지시간) 시카고 언론들에 따르면 월마트 대변인은 이날 "'엔파밀 프리미엄 뉴본(Enfamil Premium Newborn)' 분유 12.5온스(약 354g) 용량, 제조번호 ZP1K7G 캔 제품을 지난 19일부터 자발적으로 철거, 별도 보관 중"이라고 밝혔다.

이 같은 조치는 지난 18일 미주리 주 남부에서 이 분유를 먹은 생후 10일 된 아기가 기면증과 복통 증세를 보이다 사망한 후 내려졌다. 아기는 박테리아 '크로노박 터(Cronobacter)'에 양성반응을 보였다.

이 박테리아는 자연상태에서 발생하기도 하고 밀이나 쌀 등 식물에서도 발생하 며 건조된 유제품에서도 발견된다.

크로노박터 감염은 항생제로 치료가 가능하지만 생후 1달 미만의 영아나 미숙아 에게는 매우 위험한 질병으로 간주되기 때문에 유아용 분유 제조공장에서는 정기적 으로 이 병원균에 대한 검사를 실시한다.

그러나 미주리 주 보건 당국은 "아직까지는 아기 사망 원인이 엔파밀 분유와 연 관되어 있는 지 다른 요인이 결부되어 있는 지를 단정할 수 없다"며 "현재 연방 질 병통제예방센터와 식품의약국이 조사를 진행 중"이라고 전했다.

일리노이 주 글렌뷰에 본사를 둔 엔파밀 제조사 '미드 존슨 뉴트리션(Mead John son Nutrition)'은 "해당 제품은 생산, 포장단계를 거쳐 선적되기 이전까지 크로노 박터에 음성반응을 보였다"면서 "사건 발생 후 검사 기록을 재확인했으며 현재 추가 검사를 진행 중"이라고 밝혔다.

미드 존슨 대변인은 "제품의 품질과 안정성에 대해 높은 확신을 갖고 있다"며 "라벨 지침 대로 분유를 보관하고 사용할 경우 아무 문제가 될 것이 없다"고 강조했 다.

한편 보건 당국은 유아를 둔 부모들에게 "분유 제품번호를 확인한 후 해당 제품 은 반드시 반품하거나 폐기하라"면서 "아기에게 수유하기 전 반드시 손을 씻고 수유 기구를 철저히 소독하고 매 수유 때마다 한번 먹일 분량을 준비하라"고 당부했다.