The Food and Drug Administration has closed its investigation into the Listeria outbreak without finding the source of the pathogen.
The agency first reported the outbreak on September 17. The outbreak has been confirmed in eight patients, but the FDA has not said where they live, their ages or whether any of them required hospitalization or died.
During the investigation, the FDA initiated tracking but did not disclose which food items were tracked. Likewise, the agency conducted on-site inspections and random testing, but did not disclose which location was tested or what was tested.
In other outbreak news, there is an ongoing outbreak of infant botulism caused by ByHeart powder formula. As of this week, there are 15 confirmed patients in 12 states. However, the company was notified that 84 cases of infant botulism had been reported since August.
ByHeart has recalled all of its powdered infant formulas. The California Department of Public Health found the same strain of botulism that causes illness in infants in a sample of ByHeart formula taken from a patient's home.
Infant botulism is a rare but serious disease that occurs when Clostridium botulinum spores enter the body and then colonize the intestinal tract, producing botulinum neurotoxins in infants' immature intestines. Affected infants may have some or all of the following signs and symptoms: constipation, poor feeding, ptosis (drooping eyelids), sluggish pupils, low muscle tone, difficulty sucking and swallowing, weak or altered cry, general weakness, difficulty breathing, and possible respiratory arrest. If your child has any of these symptoms, get medical help right away.
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