Family Says 5-month-old Boy Contracted Salmonella in Honey Smacks Outbreak
Jul 17, 2018, 12:39 AM | Updated: 1:45 am
SANTAQUIN, Utah — A couple said Monday their 5-month-old boy is Utah’s only known person infected with salmonella in a nationwide outbreak tied to a Kellogg’s cereal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that the outbreak had sickened 100 people in 33 states, and said that customers should avoid Honey Smacks.
Mark and Ashley Lyons said tests confirmed their son, Andy, contracted the same salmonella strain found in the other Honey Smacks cases, following a visit to their relatives’ home nearly three months ago.
“We still aren’t 100-percent sure how,” Ashley Lyons said.
Mark Lyons said while the relatives had Honey Smacks at their house, their child did not eat any, and nobody else who was there has come down with salmonella symptoms.
Andy isn’t yet old enough to consume any solid, his mom said.
“I don’t know if somebody touched the cereal and then touched, like, a pacifier?” she questioned.
Doctors have typically recommended handwashing as a simple way to reduce the potential for contracting salmonella.
The couple said their relatives keep their home very clean and wash hands regularly because of other family members with food allergies.
Those other recommendations including using warm, soapy water to clean non-original containers used to house cereal.
Mark Lyons said Andy continues to suffer lingering effects from the salmonella, including abdominal pain, lack of appetite and diarrhea.
“We actually have several different appointments set up this week to check on different parts of his tummy,” he said.
The couple urged other families to be extremely cautious around infants and young children.
They said they felt like they had done what they could to protect their kids.
“Sometimes things are out of your hands and you kind of have to take it step-by-step and do what you can to help them through it,” Ashley Lyons said.
