- The Health Ministry called Friday for an immediate halt
to use of Remedia soy-based baby food, after ministry officials viewed
initial findings of an investigation on the recent hospitalization of several
babies who suffered brain damage.
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- Ministry tests found that six babies hospitalized recently
with brain damage had been fed Remedia's soy-based milk substitute, and
therefore the ministry ordered that the product be pulled from store shelves
by Sunday.
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- The investigation has not yet concluded how the use of
the soy-based product, which is manufactured at a plant in Germany, led
to brain damage. According to Dr. Dorit Nitzan-Klosky, who heads the Health
Ministry food and nutrition department, a microbe in the product may have
led to the complications.
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- Three babies were hospitalized this week, unconscious
and in serious condition. The three babies, from Petah Tikva, were placed
in the intensive care unit at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel,
suffering from brain damage that may stem from poisoning or from an infection.
The brain damage may be permanent, and may even lead to death.
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- A fourth, six-months-old baby was hospitalized in Dana
Children's Hospital in Tel Aviv with symptoms indicating possible brain
damage. The infant was fed the soy-based formula, however medical officials
have not yet concluded whether the damage was caused by the food, because
the infant is not suffering from all the symptoms that characterized the
other cases.
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- Due to the unusual number of extreme incidents, Schneider
Hospital reported the cases to the Health Ministry, which launched an epidemiological
investigation.
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- Thousands of worried parents call hotline More than 10,000
worried parents have called several hotlines operated by the baby food
company and by the country's two leaing HMOs.
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- According to a survey conducted by the Health Ministry
on Friday in the Petah Tikva and Ramle areas, between 2-8 percent of parents
use Remedia soy-based baby food.
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- The phone number of the Remedia customer-service center
is 1800-66-66-60. The Clalit Health Maintenance Organization on Friday
launched a 24-hour hotline on baby formulas: 1-700-707700. The hotline
number of the Maccabi HMO is 1-700-505353.
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- Dr. Itamar Shalit, the head of infectious disease unit
at Schneider Hospital, told Haaretz on Friday that there is documentation
of cases in the world - but not in Israel - in which baby food based on
soy beans caused nervous-system damage in babies. Dr. Shalit said that
there are several possible explanations to the phenomena, including the
presence of toxic material or bacteria in the food.
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- In the past six months, six children, between the ages
of one and eight, were hospitalized in Schneider Hospital's intensive care
unit. Of the six, one died, and two suffered permanent brain damage.
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- According to Dr. Shalit, the first symptoms of brain
damage are vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, lack of desire to eat and extreme
restlessness. He added that the symptoms of winter-related diseases such
as coughing, runny nose, rashes, eye infections and fever do not indicate
brain disease.
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- Remedia CEO Gidi Landsberger said Friday that the company
recommends as a precaution to stop using the soy-based baby formula, "in
complete coordination with the Health Ministry." Landsberger said
that "as a precautionary measure, it was decided to recommend the
public refrain from using the product until a final investigation of the
matter by Schneider Hospital is completed," and emphasized that the
recommendation pertains only to the soy-based formula.
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