The Texas Department of State Health Services is warning parents about the risk of honey pacifiers.
According to a report, there have been four infants treated for Infant Botulism since August. All four of the patients had a history of using a honey pacifier purchased from Mexico.
The honey in the pacifiers can contain spores of Clostridium Botulinum, an organism that produces a potent neurotoxin known to cause severe illness in infants.
Infant botulism occurs when C. Botulinum spores into food, dust or other materials that are inhaled or ingested.
Symptoms of botulism in infants 12 months or younger include constipation and may have poor feeding, weak sucking, weakness, drooping eyelids, loss of head control and difficulty breathing.
The report said that infants should not be given honey, or pacifiers containing honey, because of the risk of contracting infant botulism.
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