Major US pharmacies have restricted sales of baby formula in response to a worsening shortage of the special milk. The shortages intensified after Abbott - which makes top brand Similac – shut down a key factory and issued a recall in February after finding contamination.

由于婴幼儿配方奶粉短缺问题愈演愈烈，美国各大药房已经开始实行限购措施。自从生产配方奶粉大品牌Similac的雅培公司关闭了一家主要工厂并在二月份召回受污染奶粉后，奶粉短缺问题变得更加严重。

But the shortage pre-dates those issues and has been building since last year due to supply chain bottlenecks and other factors, according to research firm Datasembly, which tracks 11,000 stores across the US.
但是调研机构Datasembly指出，早在这些事件发生之前，由于供应链和其他因素，自去年以来美国的奶粉短缺问题就已经愈演愈烈。Datasembly追踪调查了美国各地11000家商店。

The situation deteriorated further last month, as publicity of the problem grew and parents raced to stock up.
随着媒体报道增多，父母们争相抢购囤货，上个月奶粉短缺问题进一步恶化。