A Florida man has filed a class-action lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories after his daughter grew ill after consuming a recalled batch of formula. The infant developed “diarrhea, abdominal pain, severe diaper rash with blisters and blood, dehydration, sleeplessness, and other pain and injuries” after being fed meals of Similac Alimentum formula. The plaintiff alleges that the girl, while recovered, is still experiencing gastrointestinal distress as result.
The lawsuit adds to the firestorm currently swirling around Abbott Laboratories and its Sturgis, Michigan facility over concerns that the corporation allowed salmonella, cronobacter sakazakii, and other bacteria to contaminate significant amounts of the baby formula it was producing for Similac, Alimentum, and Elecare brands. At least one death has been blamed on the contamination and the FDA is investigating reports of multiple illnesses from around the country.
Among those reports is a new infection in West Virginia. The case represents the first instance of an infant being diagnosed with salmonella poisoning in the state and, as it comes on the heels of multiple reports of infant formula contamination across the country, is believed to have been caused by the same issue. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, however, has not confirmed the cause of the infant’s illness. The West Virginia and Florida infections join Texas, Ohio, and Minnesota to raise the number of states impacted by the contamination to five.
Speaking on the infections, the FDA issued a press release and advised that “parents and caregivers of infants who have used these products, and are concerned about the health of their child, should contact their child’s health care provider.” The formula in question comes from containers with 22 through 37 as the first two digits of their product code with other characters in the code containing K8, SH, or Z2. All products have an expiration date of April 1, 2022, or later.