Mom Enterprises, Inc., announced today that the company is recalling Apple Flavored Baby’s Bliss Gripewater for potential Cryptosporidium contamination.  The product, which was distributed nationwide, is coded 26952V 10/08, with an expiration date of October, 2008.  In a press release, Mom Enterprises, also known as Bliss by Mom, stated:

One instance of illness has been reported in Minneapolis, MN (August 2007). The most common symptom is watery diarrhea, however, other symptoms may include dehydration, weight loss, stomach cramps or pain, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Symptoms typically begin two – ten days after infection and generally last one – two weeks. While most people with healthy immune systems will recover without treatment, the infection could be serious or life-threatening for certain individuals. Infants, children and pregnant women are susceptible to dehydration, which can be life-threatening, resulting from diarrhea. Individuals with weakened immune systems are also at risk for a more serious and life-threatening form of illness.

Cryptosporidiosis, the infection caused by ingestion of the Cryptosporidium parasite, causes painful abdominal cramping and profuse, watery diarrhea. In addition to diarrhea, symptoms of infection are fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.

Symptoms of Cryptosporidiosis appear an average of seven days after oocysts are swallowed, and normally last for two weeks or less in healthy adults. People with compromised immune systems (those with diabetes, receiving cancer treatments, who have received organ transplants, or are infected with HIV/AIDS), the elderly, pregnant women, and small children are more likely to become infected, and will suffer more severe illnesses than healthy adults. In some cases, Cryptosporidiosis can be life-threatening, especially when those infected become dehydrated.