A six-month-old baby died of botulism after ingesting honey

A six-month-old boy died of infant botulism at the end of the last month, after his family gave him honey. This happened in the Adachi district of Tokyo, capital of Japan.

Authorities in the city of Tokyo said that it was the first death caused by the aforementioned disease since 1986, when the government began to compile statistics on the subject.

In the case of Adachi's baby, official reports pointed out
The Japan Times who died on March 30th. The boy had a cough in mid-February and was transferred to the hospital on February 20, after having convulsions and respiratory failure. On February 28, he was diagnosed with infant botulism.

In turn, the authorities have warned that babies under one year of age should not receive honey.

Infant Botulism

The bacterium Clostridium botulinum, originally from botulism, was found in an unsealed honey pot in the family and in the stool of the child. A public health center confirmed that the child's death was due to poisoning caused by the aforementioned bacteria.

Infant botulism can occur when neonates, whose digestive system is immature, ingest bacteria that then produce toxins in their intestines.

The first recorded case of this disease in Japan was confirmed in the Chiba municipality in 1986, according to the Japanese Ministry of Health. The following year, the same wallet issued a warning asking cities in the country not to feed babies with honey.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, more than 30 cases of infant botulism have been reported throughout the country since 1986, but none has been fatal.

Botulism poisoning is caused by honey in most cases, but it has sometimes been caused by vegetable soup or well water, experts say.

In Argentina, the National Food Protection Network (Renapro) and Anmat also report, along with the Japanese health authorities, that children can consume honey after the first year of their lives, so as not to suffer from botulism. of the child