TeachableMedicalNews article 09292022
Teachable moment in classrooms:
- cellular basis of life chapter – linker proteins in the plasma membrane form tight junctions
- tissue chapter – tight junctions of epithelial cells prevent movement of pathogens between the cells
- immune system chapter – reliance of white blood cells for immune functions
- brain chapter – the brain is covered by meninges inside the cranial cavity
- microbiology – the pathogen bacterium Chronobacter sakazakii
The news item: Recently a news report appeared about contaminated baby formula:
FDA says maker of powdered infant formula didn’t take steps to prevent products from becoming contaminated | CNN
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined the company running a plant at the center of a baby formula recall didn’t take steps to prevent products from becoming contaminated during manufacturing, according to a preliminary report filed this month.
The article states that Chronobacter sakazakii bacterium caused death of two infants who used baby formula contaminated with the bacterium.
So, Why Do I Care?? While adults can easily defeat a bacterial infection, the bodies of infants are very vulnerable to such infection. Because the immune system of infants is naturally weak, powdered infant formulas must be free of bacterial contamination. If bacteria are in the infant formula, then the infants are exposed to life threatening infection. The number of infections is about 15 infants each year, but one-fourth of the infants die from the infection.
Plain English, Please!!! First, let’s talk about what a Chronobacterium is. This is a very common bacterium in environment, present on many surfaces and in food items. The well-trained immune system of adults can fight off this bacterium, but the not-yet-fully developed immune system of infants has a