'Miracle' antidote saves infants from botulism

When Alessandro Barbera was rushed to a California hospital with infant botulism in October, his father had barely heard of the disease, never mind the rare and costly treatment that probably saved the newborn's life.

- BY JONEL ALECCIA

Now, however, Tony Barbera is deeply grateful for BabyBIG, the sole antidote to the paralyzing and potentially deadly illnesses linked to contaminated ByHeart infant formula.

"It is hugely remarkable," said Barbera, 35, whose son is slowly recovering.

The botulism outbreak tied to ByHeart formula has sickened at least 39 babies across 18 states since August and showed the value of the treatment made from blood plasma donated by a small group of scientists and other volunteers.

"This is almost like a miracle," said Dr. Vijay Vishwanath, a pediatric neurologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, who has treated several children with botulism during his career - including one in the current outbreak.

"Prior to the discovery of BabyBIG, some of these hospitalizations would take two or three months," Vishwanath said, if infected children recovered at all.

Licensed in 2003, BabyBIG is the brand name for human botulism immune globulin, an IV medication that uses antibodies from volunteers vaccinated against botulism to help babies too young to fight the disease on their own.

Donors key to treatment