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Colo. parents warn others about infant botulism

Published: January 16, 2013 Comment on this article

DENVER (AP) — The parents of a 5-month-old Colorado baby recovering from botulism are warning others about the fairly rare and potentially fatal disease.

photo - Kari Hinkel shows off a picture of her 5-month-old daughter Keona before a news conference at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. The youngster is being treated at the hospital for Botulism. Looking on at left is her husband Brian. Keona may have been infected from honey. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Kari Hinkel shows off a picture of her 5-month-old daughter Keona before a news conference at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. The youngster is being treated at the hospital for Botulism. Looking on at left is her husband Brian. Keona may have been infected from honey. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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Keona (KEY'-own-ah) Hinkel has been on a breathing machine at the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children for two weeks, but doctors said Wednesday that she's improving.

Botulism is caused by bacteria that grow inside a baby's gastrointestinal tract. They can come from spores in contaminated soil or honey or having infrequent bowel movements.

Doctors think indirect honey exposure or contaminated soil from a home under renovation may have sickened Keona.

She wasn't fed honey but mother Kari Hinkel said that she cooked with honey. It's possible she touched her daughter with it or it got on her pacifier. The immune systems of babies under a year old can't fight spores in honey.