A baby in Oklahoma is recovering after being sickened by the Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, which was found in a Missouri infant who died from it, leading to the popular formula Enfamil to be pulled from Walmart stores nationwide.
It is the third case of Cronobacter infection to be reported over the past few weeks. The deadly Missouri infection was followed by a reported infection of an infant in Illinois.
Currently there is no evidence linking the cases, Barbara Reynolds of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told NewsCore. The agency is looking for environmental sources of the common bacteria, which she said rarely sickens people.
Enfamil was taken off store shelves after 10-day-old Avery Cornett died on Dec. 18. The formula’s maker, Mead Johnson, on Tuesday released a statement saying its internal tests had found no presence of the bacteria in its products or manufacturing facilities, and that its product had not caused the death.
There have been 120 cases of infection of the bacteria in infants since 1958, according to the CDC. It can cause septicemia and meningitis, which are deadly in about 40 percent of cases.