A raw milk warning has been issued by the New Mexico Department of Health after a newborn infant has died from a Listeria monocytogenes infection. Officials believe that the most likely source of the pathogen was unpasteurized, or raw, milk, that the mother drank while she was pregnant.
Public health investigators say that can’t pinpoint the actual cause of the pathogen, but this death underscores the serious health risks of consuming raw milk, especially for pregnant women, young children, anyone with a weakened immune system or chronic illness, and the elderly.
Dr. Chad Smelser, deputy state epidemiologist of the New Mexico Department of Health, said in a statement, “Individuals who are pregnant should only consume pasteurized milk products to help prevent illnesses and death in newborns.”
In addition, the health department issued a statement reading, “Raw milk can contain numerous disease-causing germs, including Listeria, which is bacteria that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or fatal infection in newborns, even if the mother is only mildly ill.”
Babies contract listeriosis in several ways. In an early onset infection, the mother contracts the infection and the pathogen passes to the fetus through the placenta. This infection usually results in a miscarriage. In late pregnancy, the pathogen passes from the mother to the fetus and the unborn baby usually develops meningitis, sepsis, or pneumonia. The pathogen can also significantly slow the fetal heart rate.
What’s worse is that the woman may not even know she is sick. Symptoms of listeriosis can be very mild in pregnant women, since the pathogen hides in host cells and may not affect the digestive tract. And pregnant women are ten times more likely to develop and infection when exposed to this pathogen because the immune system is suppressed to protect the fetus against rejection, which makes it more difficult for their bodies to fight off infection.
For more information, the FDA has information about Listeria and food safety for moms-to-be.
