“BabyBIG® shortened the time infants suffering from botulism spent in intensive care, the time they spent on a respirator and the time they spent on tube feeding by several weeks each,” State Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Horton said.   â€œThe antidote also reduced the average cost of hospital stay by $105,400 per case.  The department is extremely proud of Dr. Arnon and his staff and colleagues for their dedication and commitment to significantly reducing the severity of this illness in babies.”

BabyBIG® is created from blood plasma that is donated by current and former CDHS employees and other volunteers.  CDHS produces the only supply of BabyBIG® in the world.

Infant botulism is an acute muscle paralysis that results from botulism toxin produced by bacteria inside the baby’s intestine.  Although rare, infant botulism is the most common form of human botulism in the United States.  About 40 percent of U.S. cases occur in California.

Symptoms of infant botulism include constipation, poor feeding, weak cry, limpness, droopy eyelids, diminished eye movement, expressionless face, drooling and difficulty swallowing, loss of head control, difficulty breathing and occasionally, respiratory arrest.

BabyBIG® was first tested in a five-year study of 122 infant botulism patients in California from 1992 to 1997 and subsequently in a six-year study of 382 patients in 128 hospitals in 37 states, including California, from 1997 to 2003.  Nationwide use of BabyBIG® from 1997 to 2003 resulted in more than 20 years of avoided hospital stay and more than $34 million in avoided hospital costs.

The other authors of the article are Dr. Robert Schechter, a medical officer in the CDHS Immunization Branch; Nicholas P. Jewell, Ph.D., professor of Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley; and Susan E. Maslanka, Ph.D., and Charles L. Hatheway, Ph.D. (deceased), scientists at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga.

The BabyBIG® antidote is another example of Gov. Schwarzenegger Administration’s commitment to protecting the health of California newborns.  Last summer, CDHS implemented a nation leading, state-of-the art newborn screening program to test for 75 disorders and provide access to treatment for any identified conditions.

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