“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. “The
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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