A boy from Portland, Oregon, struggles to recover from infant botulism after drinking a tainted drink By Heart Children’s Formula It was donated through a program aimed at helping poor and homeless families.
Ashan Carter, now 10 months old, was hospitalized twice and remained on a feeding tube after his injury Serious infection Who got sick more than 50 children across the United States
His mother, Angel Carter, said she received a box of ByHeart formula from a caseworker with the Oregon Department of Human Services in early November, days before. Call nationwide From the product.
Carter, who receives state food and housing assistance, said she was exclusively breastfeeding her son, but her milk supply was dwindling. She added that the caseworker told the 27-year-old that ByHeart formula “was the closest thing to breast milk” and could help.
“I took it thinking, ‘Well, I hope my baby can get a bottle,'” Carter said. “It’s all been downhill since then.”
State officials did not comment on Carter’s case, but acknowledged that the agency received ByHeart’s formula from PDX Diaper Bank. That was one of about two dozen nonprofit groups across the country that are part of ByHeart’s “OpenHearted Initiative” that donated the formula to “families in need,” according to the company’s website.
Since June 2022, nearly 24,000 cartons of formula have been distributed to groups that help the homeless and other vulnerable families, the company said. All of the company’s products have been recalled since the start of production in March 2022 due to possible contamination.
Shortly after taking the ByHeart formula, Ashan developed severe constipation, muscle weakness, and limp to the point where he couldn’t move his head, Carter said.
After a trip to the emergency room, he was sent to Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland. Doctors there diagnosed him with infant botulism associated with ByHeart formula, according to Dr. Sylvia Peterson Perry, the family medicine physician who delivered Ashan and is caring for him and his mother.
Treated with BabyBIG, IV medication Which provides antibodies to the infection to stop the progression of the disease.
Ashan was hospitalized for about two weeks in November and was discharged without a feeding tube. His health deteriorated rapidly, including significant weight loss, and he was hospitalized again in December. He became so ill that his mother feared he would die.
“He was wilting,” Carter said.
She said a caseworker in Oregon texted Carter after the recall, warning her to stop using the formula.
But it was too late for Ashan, who had to replace the feeding tube down his throat because his muscles were still weak, his doctor said. It is not clear how long he will stay. He has to relearn how to crawl and talk.
“It is devastating, especially for our vulnerable families who trust this product to nourish their children and trust our social services to provide safe food for their children,” Peterson-Perry said.
ByHeart has partnered with Baby2Baby, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that counts high-profile celebrities among its supporters. It was the news outlet Healthbeat First to report That recalled formula went to groups serving at-risk families.
PDX Diaper Bank received about 400 boxes of ByHeart formula donated through Baby2Baby and distributed more than 300 of them before they were recalled, Rachel Alston, the group’s executive director, said in an email.
“All of our partners have confirmed they took immediate action to inform families, and we have provided support where we can along the way,” she said in an email.
Baby2Baby officials did not respond to email requests for comment. ByHeart officials said the company worked with Baby2Baby and other groups that received the formula to ensure the products were recalled and families were notified.
No new cases of infant botulism linked to the outbreak have been reported since December 17, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The US Food and Drug Administration conducted inspections at Bayhart’s factories, but did not release any information about the source of the outbreak. Production is still halted.
Bill Marler, a food safety attorney in Seattle, said Carter is one of more than 30 families he represents whose children have been sickened by ByHeart products. At least 18 lawsuits have been filed against ByHeart and the stores that sold the tainted formula. This week, Marler asked a federal commission to consolidate the cases in a US District Court in New York.
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