Three Orange County children, all under the age of 5, were diagnosed with Campylobacter infections, according to a report in the Orange County Register. One of them was hospitalized. All tests on Claravale Farm raw milk were negative for Campylobacter, Food Poisoning Bulletin has been informed. In April, the California Department of Food and Agriculture issued a recall of Claravale Farm raw milk products for possible Campylobacter contamination. The owners of the farm posted a notice on its website saying that between the recall and two lawsuits filed by former employees they were at risk of losing their business. Campylobacter is bacteria that is transferred via the fecal-oral route, meaning those who develop Campylobacter infections have ingested microscopic amounts of animal … [Read more...]
Claravale Raw Milk May be Associated with Campylobacter Outbreak
The California Department of Public Health warned consumers that consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk may cause serious illness. Six people in northern California have been diagnosed with campylobacteriosis, a serious infection caused by Campylobacter bacteria. Multiple bottles of raw milk from Claravale Farm have tested positive for Campylobacter and have been recalled. In 2012, raw milk from Claravale farm sickened at least 22 people with Campylobacter. In this latest recall, raw milk, raw nonfat milk and raw cream from Claravale Farm in San Benito county with code dates of "MAR 28 and earlier should be disposed. Retailers should not sell it, and consumers should not drink it. The symptoms of a Campylobacter infection include diarrhea that is often bloody, abdominal cramping and … [Read more...]
Food Poisoning Can Have Lifelong Health Effects
Every American has had food poisoning at one time or another. Most people dismiss the illness as the "24 hour flu", even though no such illness exists. If you have had diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, nausea, and fever that passes fairly quickly, you probably had food poisoning. Most people recover fully after these illnesses and don't give them a second thought. But did you know that some people never fully recover from food poisoning? The effects of these illnesses can last a lifetime. In the UK, a young women who contracted an E. coli O157:H7 infection when she was two years old just learned she needs a second kidney transplant. When she got sick as a child, she was hospitalized with kidney failure after eating a contaminated sandwich. She had a stroke and many serious … [Read more...]
In Durand Raw Milk Football Team Outbreak, Farm May Be Identified
>Wisconsin's Department of Health Services will finally identify the farm that supplied raw milk linked to a large food poisoning outbreak in the west-central town of Durand this fall. Based on numerous accounts, participants in a potluck banquet for the Durand High School football teams were not informed that the milk they were served was unpasteurized. Within days, multiple students were hospitalized and state health investigators ultimately confirmed 38 victims. The outbreak was so severe, the football program was forced to cancel two of its games and school officials marked 150 absences. Stephanie Smiley, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health Services, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the raw milk farm could be named in a report on the outbreak that is due out next … [Read more...]
Raw Milk Campylobacter Outbreak in Utah This Summer
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, there was a Campylobacter outbreak in Utah this summer linked to raw milk that sickened at least 80 people. Ropelato Dairy was the source of the contaminated milk. One man with a compromised immune system died after drinking the unpasteurized milk. State epidemiologist Cindy Burnett told members of the Legislature that of the 80 people sickened, 20% were hospitalized. Raw milk products sold in Utah must carry a warning label stating that anyone in a high risk group should avoid raw or unpasteurized dairy products. Ropelato Dairy did not put that warning on their products. In August 2014, the Utah Department of health said they were investigating a cluster of illnesses linked to the consumption of raw milk or cream purchased at Ropelato Dairy. The … [Read more...]
Cryptosporidium in Raw Milk Sickens 2 in Idaho
Cryptosporidium in raw goat milk from Treasured Sunrise Farm in Parma, Idaho has sickened at least two people. Consumers who have purchased raw goat milk from the farm on or after August 24 should not drink it. The milk was sold in stores in Boise, Caldwell, Ketchum, and Star. Cryptosporidium is a parasite that is spread when microscopic amounts of feces from an infected human or animal are ingested. It takes fewer than 10 organisms to cause an infection. Outbreaks are commonly associated with water parks and daycare centers. There isn't a drug that effectively treats a cryptosporidium infection which puts immune compromised individuals at significant risk. Symptoms, which usually develop between two and 10 days of exposure, include: watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, fever, … [Read more...]
Utah’s Raw Milk Campylobacter Outbreak is Largest in 5 Years
Outbreaks of Campylobacter infection in Utah have been linked to raw milk consumption 14 times in the past five years, sickening more than 200 people. The largest of those outbreaks began in May of this year and was announced one week ago when the Utah Deparment of Agriculture and Food announced that it had suspended the Raw Milk for Retail distribution permit held by Ogden's Ropelato Dairy. As of August 26, state health officials had traced 45 illnesses to the Weber County raw milk operation. ilkOf the 14 Utah raw milk Campylobacter outbreaks, two have been associated with the Ropelato farm, located at 4019 W. 1800 South, Ogden, state records show. The previous outbreak was recorded in May 2010, sickening a smaller cluster of people in three counties. Regardless, Utah agriculture … [Read more...]
Ropelato Dairy Disease Outbreak Spotlights Utah Raw Milk Law
A large Campylobacter outbreak associated with Ropelato Dairy in Ogden, Utah, is drawing attention to the state's "Raw Milk for Retail'' rules, legal code that allowed authorities to suspend Ropelato's state-authorized operating permit while officials investigate the cause of so many illnesses. So far, 45 cases of Campylobacter infection have been reported by the Utah Department of Health. The size of the current outbreak is almost as large as the 2002 raw milk outbreak in Ohio that is cited in the Utah Administrative Code as one reason the state's Department of Agriculture and Food -- with FDA concurrence -- "strongly advises against the consumption of raw milk'' for health reasons. According to a review of Utah Rule R70-330 by Food Poisoning Bulletin, the state warns its residents … [Read more...]
McBee Dairy Farm in TN Linked to E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak
The Tennessee Department of Health has announced that the strain of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened nine children has been matched to animal waste collected at the McBee dairy farm in Mascot, Tennessee that produced the milk. This is a DNA match that proves that the pathogenic bacteria that made the children sick came from the farm. Five of the nine children sickened in this outbreak were hospitalized. Three of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication of a shiga toxin-producting E. coli bacteria that can cause kidney failure, strokes, seizures, and death. The investigation conducted by public health officials included an on-site inspection of the farm, interviews of the 88 households that purchased milk from the farm, and lab analysis of milk and other … [Read more...]
Possible Raw Milk E. coli Outbreak at McBee Dairy Farm in Tennessee
A possible E. coli outbreak is associated with raw milk sold from McBee Dairy Farm in Mascot, Tennessee. WATE TV is reporting that several children have been sickened by the pathogenic bacteria. At least three children have been hospitalized. Consumers have been advised to stop drinking the raw cow and goat milk from that farm. The Knox County Health Department is contacting anyone who may have purchased these products. Raw milk sales are legal in Tennessee, as long as the consumer "owns" the cow through cow-share agreements. E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Listeria bacteria are found in raw milk. Those at greatest risk for serious illness from these bacteria include the very young, elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic illnesses and compromised immune systems. From … [Read more...]
