Cronobacter Support
06-08-2009, 07:29 PM
By SUSAN SALISBURY
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 05, 2009
palmbeachpost.com
WEST PALM BEACH — When Kayla Hess, then 10 years old, used Listerine Agent Cool Blue mouthwash in 2007, she became ill with repeated strep throat infections and stomach cramps. She even cracked a permanent molar tooth.
Recalled in April 2007 by McNeil-PPC Inc. a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, the Listerine mouthwash contained four kinds of bacteria, said Brian Smith, a West Palm Beach attorney representing Kayla and her mother Susan McKenzie, in a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach.
"People thought that because it was a Listerine product, it contained antiseptic, but it did not," Smith said.
Damages in excess of $5 million are being sought in the class action suit, which names Skillman, N.J.-based McNeil.
Kayla's mother Susan McKenzie said Friday that Kayla, who had never had strep throat, began having repeated bouts of the illness beginning in November 2006. That's when she began using the Agent Cool Blue rinse her dentist recommended.
"The dentist recommended she start using this to make sure the plaque was not building up on her teeth," said McKenzie. But afterwards, "She was consistently on antibiotics for five months."
After various antibiotics failed to stop the sickness, Kayla's pediatrician scheduled a tonsillectomy for the youngster. The recall occurred right before the scheduled surgery. "I could have put this poor child under anesthesia," McKenzie said.
The seventh grader at Palm Springs Middle School has been healthy since she stopped using the rinse and had her molar fixed.
McNeil estimates that the voluntary recall of the mouthwash involved more than four million bottles, marketed to children ages six and up in 2007.
The bacteria found included klebsiella oxytoca, which can cause urinary-tract infections and blood poisoning; serratia marcecens, linked to bloodstream infections; enterobacter cloacae, tied to respiratory infections; and pseudomonas fluorescens, which is harmless to most people.
After pulling the product in April 2007, Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division reintroduced a reformulated version of the plaque-detecting pre-brush rinse in Septemeber 2008 with "an enhanced preservative system," the company said in a press release.
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 05, 2009
palmbeachpost.com
WEST PALM BEACH — When Kayla Hess, then 10 years old, used Listerine Agent Cool Blue mouthwash in 2007, she became ill with repeated strep throat infections and stomach cramps. She even cracked a permanent molar tooth.
Recalled in April 2007 by McNeil-PPC Inc. a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, the Listerine mouthwash contained four kinds of bacteria, said Brian Smith, a West Palm Beach attorney representing Kayla and her mother Susan McKenzie, in a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach.
"People thought that because it was a Listerine product, it contained antiseptic, but it did not," Smith said.
Damages in excess of $5 million are being sought in the class action suit, which names Skillman, N.J.-based McNeil.
Kayla's mother Susan McKenzie said Friday that Kayla, who had never had strep throat, began having repeated bouts of the illness beginning in November 2006. That's when she began using the Agent Cool Blue rinse her dentist recommended.
"The dentist recommended she start using this to make sure the plaque was not building up on her teeth," said McKenzie. But afterwards, "She was consistently on antibiotics for five months."
After various antibiotics failed to stop the sickness, Kayla's pediatrician scheduled a tonsillectomy for the youngster. The recall occurred right before the scheduled surgery. "I could have put this poor child under anesthesia," McKenzie said.
The seventh grader at Palm Springs Middle School has been healthy since she stopped using the rinse and had her molar fixed.
McNeil estimates that the voluntary recall of the mouthwash involved more than four million bottles, marketed to children ages six and up in 2007.
The bacteria found included klebsiella oxytoca, which can cause urinary-tract infections and blood poisoning; serratia marcecens, linked to bloodstream infections; enterobacter cloacae, tied to respiratory infections; and pseudomonas fluorescens, which is harmless to most people.
After pulling the product in April 2007, Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division reintroduced a reformulated version of the plaque-detecting pre-brush rinse in Septemeber 2008 with "an enhanced preservative system," the company said in a press release.