A Washington Campylobacter outbreak is linked to Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk, according to a news release by the Washington State Department of Health. Five lab-positive cases have been identified. The raw milk was purchased in Clallam, Skagit, Kitsap, and Clark Counties. We don’t know the patient ages, illness onset dates, or whether anyone has been hospitalized.
Dungeness Valley Creamery has issued a voluntary recall of all raw milk products with a Best Buy date of April 13, 2021 or earlier. These products may be contaminated with Campylobacter, which can cause serious illness. The recalled raw milk items are bottled in gallon, half-gallon, quart, and pint containers.
The raw milk was sold to customers in western Washington state in the company’s on-farm store, outside retail stores, and through drop-off locations. It is legal to sell and buy raw milk in that state, although all raw milk products must carry a warning label that states, “WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria. Pregnant women, children, the elderly, and persons with lowered resistance to disease have the highest risk of harm from use of this product.”
The Washington State Department of Health is working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture and local health to officials to investigate this ongoing outbreak. Dr. Scott Lindquist, State Epidemiologist for Communicable Diseases. said in a statement, “Unpasteurized raw milk can carry harmful bacteria and germs. Foodborne illnesses can be caused by many different foods; however, raw milk is one of the riskiest.”
This is not the first outbreak linked to Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk products, nor the first recall. In 2018, an E. coli outbreak linked to that raw milk sickened a child and an elderly person.
Raw milk and unpasteurized dairy products can be contaminated with E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella bacteria because it doesn’t go through the pasteurization process that destroys pathogens. A study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases in 2015 found that outbreaks associated with non pasteurized milk pose a public health challenge. Children are at highest risk for illness from raw milk; 59% of outbreaks involved at least one child under the age of five.
Symptoms of a Campylobacter food poisoning illness include fever, diarrhea which is often bloody, nausea, vomiting, malaise, and abdominal pain. In severe cases, a Campylobacter infection can cause the complications reactive arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, which can lead to paralysis. If you have consumed Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk and have been sick with these symptoms, see your doctor. You could be part of this outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a Campylobacter infection after drinking Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
