Knox County parents suspect infant sick due to recalled baby formula

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it’s investigating consumer complaints of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport infections this week. The FDA has advised consumers to stop using Abbott manufactured powdered infant formula from Abbott, Alimentum, or EleCare brands. This comes after four infants were sent to the hospital and one reportedly died.

A Knox County family told WVLT News their 9-month-old has taken nearly two dozen trips to the doctor’s office after consuming recalled Similac formula.

Eric and Jennifer Bowlin are nursing their daughter back from a UTI, vomiting, seizers and diarrhea without a clue of the exact cause. Lab results have found E Coli in Kaya’s system, and new tests could detect Salmonella. While her parents anxiously wait, they’re sending out a message to other families.

“Please check and if it is one of the bad batches stop immediately,” Jennifer said.

A spokesperson with the CDC told WVLT News they have not identified any additional salmonella cases related to this investigation.

“Mentally, it’s been hard as a father because you want to fix stuff you know something that you just can’t just fix right away,” Eric said.

Abbott reported its own testing of finished product didn’t detect any contamination. The recall does not affect liquid infant formulas or any other Abbott products.

Click here to check recalled products.

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