An eight-month-old baby has suffered brain damage after contracting meningitis from bacteria found in her baby food.
Baby Mira White of Sikeston, Missouri was tragically infected with cronobacter sakazakii, an invasive bacteria that prompted a 2022 recall of certain powdered baby foods.
Mira and another baby from Kentucky, who tragically died in November due to the infection, both consumed powdered infant formula from Abbott Nutrition, the company at the center of last year's crisis.
Premature Mira White was diagnosed with a brain infection in early March, when she was just six weeks old, caused by the bacteria in her formula.
Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria was found in an open container of Similac NeoSure formulation at her home.
Baby Mira White of Sikeston, Missouri suffered brain damage after contracting meningitis from a bacteria found in baby food
Now her mother Asian Davis (pictured) is suing Abbott, the formula's maker, claiming she was sold a defective product
Mira's mother, Asian Davis, is now suing Abbott, claiming the company sold her a defective product and that it should have warned parents of premature babies that powdered formula can cause serious illness.
However, Abbott has denied that the bacteria came from the product.
Investigations revealed that the bacteria was not found in unopened cans of Similac NeoSure formulation from Mira's home.
The bacteria occur naturally in the environment and can end up in infant formula after opening the package.
FDA investigators also said they had established “no causal relationship” between Mira's infection and the Casa Grande, Arizona, factory that marketed the formula to premature babies.
Abbott officials said they found no cronobacter in batches of formula at the plant.
FDA officials said there was no evidence the two babies' infections were related to manufacturing and saw no reason to issue new recalls.
“There is no evidence at this time of a broader public health concern associated with this product,” the FDA said in a statement.
In March, just days after Mira was bottle-fed, 33-year-old Asian Davis noticed a difference in her daughter.
'She stopped eating and sucking,' Davis, who has four older children, told Fox4.
“That motherly instinct kicked in and I said, 'There's something wrong with my baby.'
After multiple tests, doctors determined that Mira had bacterial meningitis, caused by cronobacter sakazakii, found in her spinal fluid and blood.
Brain scans showed neurological damage and missing tissue caused by the infection.
Since her illness, Mira has almost constantly suffered from epileptic attacks and inconsolable fits of crying.
“It really affected her brain,” Davis said. “She will grow, but it will be slow progress.”
Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria was found in her home in an open container of Similac NeoSure formulation
In March, within days of feeding Mira, Davis noticed a difference in her daughter
“She's going to need surgeries, she might need a wheelchair,” Davis said. “She might need that stuff for the rest of her life,” she explained.
“It really affected her brain,” Davis said. “She will grow, but it will be slow progress.”
Davis said she is filing a lawsuit to raise awareness about the dangers of the rare bacteria — and to financially fund Mira's future care.
“She's going to need surgeries, she might need a wheelchair,” Davis said. “She might need that stuff for the rest of her life,” she explained.
In Kentucky, the FDA said it found “no evidence” of contamination after a Nov. 21 inspection at an Abbott plant.
But former FDA official Frank Yiannas told Fox 4 that a negative test does not guarantee there is no contamination.
'A positive test result means a lot. A negative test result means nothing,” he explained.
Last year, federal investigators shut down an Abbot formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan, after four babies were infected with the bacteria, two of whom died.
Inspectors found widespread contamination at the plant.