The CDC has issued a Health Advisory, for Brucella RB51 that may be connected to raw milk from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. The New York State Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health are investigating illnesses. In late December, 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Health quarantined that farm’s raw milk and raw milk products for possible Brucella contamination.
As of January 22, 2019, exposures to this milk have been identified in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. There are three people who are sick with the symptoms of Brucella RB51, due to raw milk consumption, since August 2017.
A New York resident, who drank raw milk from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm, was diagnosed with brucellosis in November 2018. Milk samples from that dairy tested positive for Brucella RB51. Anyone who drank raw milk or who ate raw milk products from this dairy since January 2016 may have been exposed to the pathogen.
The symptoms of brucellosis can occur anywhere from five days to six months following exposure. Those symptoms include fever, malaise, sweats, anorexic, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain. Some people may develop more serious symptoms such as endocarditis and neurologic symptoms. Pregnant women can suffer miscarriages from this pathogen.
The CDC is recommending treatment options. Patients who are still within six month of the date they last consumed the raw milk are at an increased risk for brucellosis. If patients are outside the six-month window following their last consumption of raw milk, or who develop n illness consistent with brucellosis symptoms should have a blood culture before treatment begins.
If you have consumed raw milk from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm or elsewhere, and have been ill with these types of symptoms, see your doctor.
