The state of Alaska Section of Epidemiology (SOE) is investigating four recent cases of Campylobacter infection associated with drinking raw milk from an Alaska farm. According to a recent epidemiology bulletin, on June 15, 2011, SOE was notified by the Alaska State Public Health Laboratory of four Campylobacter jejuni isolates with identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. After conducting interviews of the four individuals, health officials discovered that the consumption of unpasteurized, or raw, milk was the only exposure common to all ill persons.
During their investigation SOE learned the following:
All four persons with matching Campylobacter isolates experienced acute gastroenteritis in May and June 2011. Patient ages ranged from 1 – 81 years. All four persons were living in Southcentral Alaska at the time of their illness, and all reported consuming raw milk from the same cow share farm in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.Although Alaska state regulations do not permit the sale of raw milk, owning shares of an animal to receive that animal’s milk is permissible. Unlike milk supplied by commercial outlets, there is no testing or pasteurization required of milk before distribution from a cow-share program.
SOE reported that:
With the onset dates for the four confirmed cases scattered over almost a month-long period, it is unlikely that there was a single “bad batch” of milk, but rather multiple batches of contaminated milk. Raw milk outbreaks can be intermittent and protracted, and this outbreak might well be ongoing. Therefore, we strongly encourage health care providers and the general public to report to SOE all cases of acute gastroenteritis following consumption of raw milk. By interviewing ill persons, we are able to better understand the factors associated with this outbreak and thereby provide more specific control measures to prevent future illness from occurring.In light of the potentially ongoing Campylobacter jejuni outbreak, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services issued a press release today urging anyone who has consumed raw milk and subsequently experienced acute gastrointestinal illness (i.e. diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, fever) since March 2011 to contact the Section of Epidemiology at 907-269-8000.
Dr. Joe McLaughlin, chief of the Alaska SOE, stated, “Raw milk is an ideal substance for the proliferation of bacteria introduced through fecal contamination.” Moreover, he added, “Unpasteurized milk can be infected with a number of pathogens including Listeria, Salmonella, and as we’ve seen in this case, Campylobacter.”
I know a lot of people that have consumed raw milk before. I am actually one of them, but when I did I had no idea of what I could possibly catch from it. I personally do not like raw milk. I definitely am a fan of 1%, skim, and almond milk. Once Mrs. Jeff told me about getting Campylobacter from raw milk I was not too surprised. Consuming things like that straight from the animal you are bound to get something.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Hunt
This is a scary thing to read about. It seems crazy that pasteurization is not required of milk from a cow-share program. The people that are part of a cow-share program are surely rethinking drinking raw milk after learning about this outbreak. If regular milk is required by the FDA to be pasteurized, wouldn't you think you probably want to get that "cow-share" milk pastuerized for your health's sake?
ReplyDeleteI found some information about pasteurization on wikipedia (I'm aware its not the most reliable source).
ReplyDelete"The process of pasteurization slows microbial growth in food. The modern version was created by the French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur, after whom it is named. The first pasteurization test was completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard in April 1862. The process was originally conceived as a way of preventing wine and beer from souring.
Unlike sterilization, pasteurization is not intended to kill all micro-organisms in the food. Instead pasteurization aims to reduce the number of viable pathogens so they are unlikely to cause disease (assuming the pasteurized product is stored as indicated and consumed before its expiration date). Commercial-scale sterilization of food is not common because it adversely affects the taste and quality of the product. Certain food products, like dairy products, are superheated to ensure pathogenic microbes are destroyed."
The whole purpose of pasteurization is to prevent the spread of disease and the process that is being used today has been around since the 19th century. why would anyone choose to go against knowledge that man kind has had for this long?
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ReplyDeleteIts kind of scary to think that trying to do something good like drinking raw milk made these people so sick. I've drank raw milk a lot growing up and don't really recall having any health problems. I do not agree with all the things that we do to our food to keep it fresh or to help in making it convenient for commercial use but I agree with Cassie on this one. Obviously pasteurization has been recognized globally has a means or preserving diary products and reducing the amount of microbial agents found in those products. Why would you think it is good idea to not pasteurize your milk?
ReplyDeleteThat's scary but I am not surprised to hear that raw milk can cause campylobacter or any other infectious diseases. Why would someone drink raw milk when they know there is a chance of getting sick from it. I think it is just crazy to consume something that came straight from the animal without going throught the pasteurization process. Great article and thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is quiet unsettling. I don't even have the means to acquire raw milk and now I am glad.This makes is quiet evident that not all things that are straight from nature are healthy. It seems there has been an increase in the general desires of people to become more healthy and eat organic and pure food which could increase the likelihood of ingesting such bacterias. I recall an occasion that my first grade teacher brought in raw cow milk and we all shook it and churned it to make butter to spread on crackers. We proceeded to all eat this raw milk. That teacher could have had a serious situation on her hands if we had caught something!
ReplyDeleteI found the following article on the internet on the importance of pasteurizing milk. The article says that we should pasteurize milk to 161 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees centigrade) for 15 seconds. However, this process would not kill organism that grow slowly or produce spores. It is kind of scary what we are drinking each day.
ReplyDeleteThe link to the article follows:
http://www.fcs.msue.msu.edu/ff/pdffiles/foodsafety2.pdf