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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A likely case of botulism has been diagnosed in an infant at a hospital in Minot, but state health officials said Thursday that they believe it's an isolated case and don't expect other children or adults to come down with the rare and potentially fatal illness.
Preliminary test results late last week identified the case as botulism, which is caused by a nerve toxin produced by bacteria. Final testing is still being done, but officials are treating it as a likely case, said Michelle Feist, a state Health Department epidemiologist.
The illness is expensive to treat: The antitoxin alone costs $50,000 and hospital stays can be lengthy, said Terry Altringer, a clinical coordinator with Trinity Hospital, where the infant is being treated.
Neither state nor hospital officials are releasing more details about the patient, but Feist said "infant" describes a child younger than 1 year old.
Infant botulism is caused by babies consuming bacteria spores that then grow in their intestines and release toxins that can lead to muscle paralysis, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Feist said infants can breathe in the spores — which occur naturally in the soil and can be present in dust — or ingest them through food.
Officials do not know how the infant in Minot became ill. Feist said the baby formula the infant consumed is being tested, but that doctors do not believe that to be the source.
"If it was something that was in the formula, we anticipate that there would likely be additional cases," she said.
The bacteria naturally occur in honey, but the infant did not consume honey, Feist said, adding: "Why one infant gets it and another won't, that's not entirely clear."
The last case of infant botulism in North Dakota was in 1999, and officials were not able to identify the source of that illness. The last adult in the state to get botulism also was in 1999, in an unrelated case.
On average, only 145 cases of botulism are reported in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC.
"It's so rare, especially in North Dakota, we wouldn't think there would be any additional cases," Feist said. "Just because there's one case doesn't mean other infants are at risk."
Trinity Health also does not consider the case a public health concern, spokeswoman Mary Muhlbradt said.
Altringer said the high price to treat the illness is in part due to the amount of research and development that goes into making an antitoxin for a relatively small number of patients. Another reason is that it's derived from plasma from the small number of adults who have developed antibodies against botulism.
The antitoxin is effective, Altringer said.
"It can basically shorten the duration the patient is on a ventilator in an intensive care setting by about half," he said. "The average time in a hospital drops from about six weeks to about three weeks."
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Information from: KXMC-TV, http://www.kxnet.com
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