(CNN) — Rose Dexter was just a month old in August when she developed constipation, gas and tummy discomfort, symptoms that her pediatrician chalked up to normal baby development.

“Looking back at the photos, she was losing weight. She looked sick,” said her dad, Stephen Dexter. “And the entire time during the decline, Mom had been saying something was wrong.”

That something turned out to be infant botulism, a condition caused by the spores of a bacteria that was growing in her gut, producing a toxin considered to be the most powerful in the world. It was poisoning her nerves and gradually paralyzing her.

Rose is one of at least 31 infants who have developed botulism after consuming powdered formula from the company ByHeart.

The California Department of Health conducted tests of an op

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