A case that could have turned into a tragedy fortunately ended in the best possible way in Bari. A newborn baby of just six months old, suffering from infantile botulism, was saved thanks to the speed of diagnosis and the teamwork of infectious disease specialists, resuscitators and neonatologists at the Giovanni XXIII pediatric hospital.
The little boy arrived at the emergency room with serious symptoms: paralysis of the pupils, poor reactivity to stimuli and progressive muscle weakness. But the promptness of the doctors made it possible to immediately suspect botulism and to activate an urgent protocol which involved the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and the Poison Control Center of Pavia.
Within a few hours, the specific antitoxin was administered and urgently transferred to Bari with the support of the State Police. After days of intensive care, ventilatory assistance and constant monitoring, the little one began to improve, on September 29th he was extubated and two days ago he was finally able to go home with his parents.
What is Botulinum
The Clostridium botulinum it is a bacterium that produces one of the most powerful natural toxins in the world: botulinum toxin, which blocks nerve transmission to the muscles, causing progressive paralysis. In adults, botulism is almost always linked to the consumption of contaminated foods in which the toxin has already formed, for example poorly prepared homemade preserves, vegetables in oil or poorly preserved fish.
In newborns, however, the risk is different: botulinum spores, present naturally in the soil or in some foods, can colonize the immature intestine and produce the toxin directly inside the body. This condition is called infantile botulism and is particularly insidious because it can also manifest itself with initially vague symptoms, such as tiredness, difficulty sucking or moving the limbs, to the point of compromising breathing.
Because honey is prohibited under 12 months
Honey, while being a natural and healthy food for older children and adults, is recognized as one of the main carriers of botulinum spores. In adults, mature intestinal flora prevent spores from germinating; in infants under 12 months, however, the microbiota is not yet able to protect the organism, making the development of the bacterium and the production of the toxin possible.
For this reason, paediatricians and the Ministry of Health have recommended for years not to give honey to children under one year of age, even in small quantities. Many parents, in good faith, consider honey a beneficial food “because it is natural” and in the past it was customary to offer it even to the little ones. Today, however, science has clarified the risks.
And the danger does not only concern direct hiring. As Salvatore Grasso, director of the pediatric intensive care unit of Giovanni XXIII in Bari, underlines in an interview with Repubblica:
The parents of the newborn told me several times that they did not give him honey, that only they ate it. It is plausible to think that the child got his hands dirty with honey and then put them in his mouth, thus ending up ingesting it and becoming intoxicated.
The case of Bari demonstrates how important it is still to provide information and prevention.
In addition to honey, botulinum spores can also be found in dust and soil. This is why it is important to maintain careful hygiene: wash your hands often, clean the objects that children put in their mouths and pay attention to possible sources of contamination.
Experts point out that infantile botulism, fortunately rare, is a very serious pathology: recognizing the symptoms early and intervening promptly is what can make the difference, as demonstrated by the story of the newborn from Bari.
