India, Nov. 10 -- Infant botulism, a rare illness that affects children below 1 year of age, is in the spotlight after at least 13 infants were hospitalised following consumption of an infant formula, in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on November 8 that illnesses linked to contaminated baby formula from specific lots of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula, were reported in 10 US states. While there have been no reported deaths connected to this issue, the recall affects specific lots of powdered formula.

Infant botulism is a serious but rare illness. It occurs when babies under one year old consume food contaminated with spores from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. "After babies swallow these spores, t...