Babies sickened in ByHeart formula outbreak need ongoing treatment

Public health, explained: Sign up to receive Healthbeat’s free national newsletter here.Most of the babies hospitalized in a recent nationwide outbreak of infant botulism linked to ByHeart baby formula have needed additional physical therapy and other medical support after going home, according to new data shared Friday.“Although many infants are now progressing in their recovery, evaluating their outcomes is essential to understanding the progression and severity of illness observed during this outbreak,” said Myra Brooks, a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, who presented the data at the service’s annual conference in Atlanta. The conference highlights the work of the agency’s disease detectives.Brooks, a first-year EIS officer, works with the CDC’s National Botulism Consultation Service and was part of the response to the outbreak linked to ByHeart infant formula last year. It is the first documented outbreak of infant botulism