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lucas.kent · 02-26-2010, 07:42 AM

Mom learns the hard way: Raw milk can be dangerous
By Carrie Stetler
April 16, 2008, 5:03AM

To those who swear that drinking unpasteurized milk is the ultimate health elixir, this story should give you some pause.

What began as a two-night getaway at a farm in Lancaster County, Pa., turned into a calamity of nightmarish proportions for me and my two kids when we drank raw milk.

My friend and I took our children to a working farm during spring break. They milked cows, fed bottles of milk to calves and ran free on acres of land - a rarity for these city kids.

They also drank the milk that was on the breakfast table, a milk I might add, that was the most silky and delicious any of us had ever tasted. We were told it was unpasteurized, but made to believe it was safe. (I assumed it was at least boiled).

A day after returning home, we knew we had made a terrible mistake. The first to fall ill was my five-year-old daughter, who had a high fever, then stomach flu symptoms, then my four-year-old son, then me.

My friend and her family had become violently ill as well. We spent seven days worried that our kids could dehydrate and forced them to drink gallons of Gatorade. My friend did get dehydrated and needed intravenous fluids in order to return to her job as a nurse.

After a week of this torture, medical tests showed we had contracted campylobacter, a bacterial food poisoning that can be found in unpasteurized milk. The six of us were prescribed antibiotics.

Thankfully, we're all going to be OK.

To be fair, campylobacter can also be spread by contact with raw or undercooked poultry, as the farm owners later told us, but the likely culprit according to my doctor was the raw milk.

The kids missed an entire week of school, made endless round-the-clock trips to the bathroom and suffered through sleepless night. I had to adjust my work schedule and get help from family.

Then there was the fear we had contracted a more severe and chronic illness, as we later learned could have happened (arthritis, tubercolosis and salmonella, to name a few).

Raw milk enthusiasts claim it can cure everything from asthma to allergies http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/. They even regularly cross state lines to buy unpasteurized milk in Pennsylvania, since the sale of such products are illegal in New Jersey.

Maybe it does have health benefits. But after my experience, it's not worth the risk.

Drinking raw milk is like playing Russian roulette with your health.

When it comes to my children's health, it's not a game I'm willing to play.

http://blog.nj.com/parentalguidance/...armenmilk.html

_____

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/chees..._spotlight.htm

Raw Milk and Cheeses: Health Risks are Still Black and White

bottle of raw milkEach year, people become ill from drinking raw milk and eating foods made from raw dairy products. Unlike most of the milk, cheese, and dairy products sold in the United States, raw milk and raw dairy products have not been heat treated or pasteurized to kill germs. Although many states outlaw the sale of these items, many people including dairy producers, farm workers and their families, and some ethnic groups continue to drink raw milk and eat foods made from raw dairy products. Several types of raw cheeses such as feta, brie, queso fresco, sheep’s and goat's milk cheese have been illegally sold in the United States.

Germs in These Products Cause Thousands of Illnesses

Raw milk and raw dairy products may carry many types of disease-causing germs such as Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Brucella. When raw milk or raw milk products become contaminated, people who eat the contaminated foods can get sick. Here are a few examples of outbreaks that have been reported since 2000:

2001: Outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni infections from drinking “raw” or unpasteurized milk.

2003: Outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections from eating unpasteurized queso fresco (a Mexican-style soft cheese)

2003: Outbreak of Salmonella infections from eating unpasteurized queso fresco.

2004: Outbreak of E. coli.O157 infections from eating unpasteurized queso fresco

These Illnesses Can Be Dangerous

unpasteurized cheeseGetting sick from one of these germs can lead to diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, headache, vomiting, or exhaustion. The misery typically lasts anywhere from several hours to a week or more but most healthy people will recover.

These illnesses can be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly, children, and people with cancer, an organ transplant, or HIV/AIDS. Germs found in raw milk and raw dairy products can be especially dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn babies.

_____

Journal of the American Medical Association:http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content...ct/252/15/2048

Meaningful differences in nutritional value between pasteurized and unpasteurized milk have not been demonstrated, and other purported benefits of raw milk consumption have not been substantiated. Conversely, the role of unpasteurized dairy products in the transmission of infectious diseases has been established repeatedly. To effectively counsel patients attracted by the health claims made for raw milk, practicing physicians must understand both the rationale used by proponents of raw milk and the magnitude of the risk involved in drinking raw milk.

______

14 sick, 1 paralyzed from raw milk
Illness halts raw milk program
Published: August 16, 2008
By Nicholas Grube
Triplicate staff writer

Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms ended its raw milk program after several people who consumed the product got sick, including one Crescent City woman who remains in intensive care and is partially paralyzed.

The Del Norte County Department of Public Health suspects at least 15 people who ingested raw milk contracted Campylobacter, a common bacteria found in domesticated animals that can cause gastrointestinal illness.

Raw milk essentially comes straight from the udder and has become popular among health-conscious consumers. It is unpasteurized, and advocates say it contains beneficial microbes that help in digestion and provide increased nutrition.

Three cases of Campylobacter infections have been documented by Del Norte County health officials since late June, and the other 12 are awaiting confirmation.
...
The woman who became sick initially showed symptoms common with a Campylobacter infection, Martinelli said. This included episodes of abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

She later developed a form of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder that makes a person's immune system attack the peripheral nervous system and can result in paralysis.

The syndrome is rare, but when it does occur it often is associated with a Campylobacter infection, medical studies have found.
...
http://community.livejournal.com/nat...g/4713213.html

_____

5 possibly sick with campylobacter from raw milk in New York

Posted: January 31st, 2010 - 9:17am
Source: barfblog

The New York State Department of Health and the State Department of Agriculture and Markets today warned consumers in Saratoga County and surrounding areas not to consume "unpasteurized" raw milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm located at 343 Hop City Road in Ballston Spa due to possible Campylobacter contamination.
The state Health Department received 5 reports of Campylobacter enteritis, from people who have also consumed raw unpasteurized milk purchased from Willow Marsh Farm.
The farm has voluntarily suspended milk sales since it was first notified of the reported illnesses on January 22.
Preliminary tests concluded today at the New York State Food Laboratory found that raw unpasteurized milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm and collected on January 25 may be contaminated with Campylobacter. Final test results will be available in the coming week. If the raw milk sample is confirmed positive for Campylobacter, the producer will be prohibited from selling raw milk until subsequent sampling indicates that the product is free of pathogens.

http://bites.ksu.edu/news/140627/10/...-milk-new-york

_____

NY State Department of Health: Campylobacter Contamination Found in Raw Milk

5 Reports of Illness May be Related to Consuming Raw Milk from Saratoga Farm

ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 29, 2010 ) -- The New York State Department of Health and the State Department of Agriculture and Markets today warned consumers in Saratoga County and surrounding areas NOT to consume "unpasteurized" raw milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm located at 343 Hop City Road in Ballston Spa due to possible Campylobacter contamination.

The state Health Department received 5 reports of Campylobacter enteritis, from people who have also consumed raw unpasteurized milk purchased from Willow Marsh Farm.

Campylobacter is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache, and muscle pain. The illness usually occurs two to five days after ingestion and generally lasts for seven to ten days.

Anyone who purchased milk from Willow Marsh Farm and still has the product should discard it immediately. Individuals experiencing gastrointestinal illness symptoms after consuming milk purchased from Willow Marsh Farm should contact their health care provider.

The farm has voluntarily suspended milk sales since it was first notified of the reported illnesses on January 22.

Preliminary tests concluded today at the New York State Food Laboratory found that raw unpasteurized milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm and collected on January 25 may be contaminated with Campylobacter. Final test results will be available in the coming week. If the raw milk sample is confirmed positive for Campylobacter, the producer will be prohibited from selling raw milk until subsequent sampling indicates that the product is free of pathogens.

Willow Marsh Farm holds a Department of Agriculture permit to legally sell raw milk at the farm. Routine samples are taken monthly and tested by the state Agriculture and Markets Department to determine whether the raw milk is free of pathogens.

Raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization, which eliminates all pathogenic bacteria, including Campylobacter. Producers who sell raw milk to consumers must have a permit from the Department of Agriculture and must sell directly to consumers on the farm where the milk is produced. These producers must also post a notice at the point of sale indicating that raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization. Farms with permits to sell raw milk are inspected monthly by the Department.

Bobby_Light, I of course respect your opinion, but I'm going to have to disagree here. Advocating the consumption of raw milk is contrary to the recommendations of nearly every government agency, health professionals, and goes against the peer-reviewed, published research of hundreds of academic and scientific sources.

But, to each his own. I can imagine that raw milk probably does taste much smoother and silkier than pasteurized milk, though!

02-26-2010, 07:42 AM	#31
lucas.kent Major 143 Rep 1,173 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: AZ iTrader: (2) Garage List 2016 BMW M3 [0.00]	Mom learns the hard way: Raw milk can be dangerous By Carrie Stetler April 16, 2008, 5:03AM To those who swear that drinking unpasteurized milk is the ultimate health elixir, this story should give you some pause. What began as a two-night getaway at a farm in Lancaster County, Pa., turned into a calamity of nightmarish proportions for me and my two kids when we drank raw milk. My friend and I took our children to a working farm during spring break. They milked cows, fed bottles of milk to calves and ran free on acres of land - a rarity for these city kids. They also drank the milk that was on the breakfast table, a milk I might add, that was the most silky and delicious any of us had ever tasted. We were told it was unpasteurized, but made to believe it was safe. (I assumed it was at least boiled). A day after returning home, we knew we had made a terrible mistake. The first to fall ill was my five-year-old daughter, who had a high fever, then stomach flu symptoms, then my four-year-old son, then me. My friend and her family had become violently ill as well. We spent seven days worried that our kids could dehydrate and forced them to drink gallons of Gatorade. My friend did get dehydrated and needed intravenous fluids in order to return to her job as a nurse. After a week of this torture, medical tests showed we had contracted campylobacter, a bacterial food poisoning that can be found in unpasteurized milk. The six of us were prescribed antibiotics. Thankfully, we're all going to be OK. To be fair, campylobacter can also be spread by contact with raw or undercooked poultry, as the farm owners later told us, but the likely culprit according to my doctor was the raw milk. The kids missed an entire week of school, made endless round-the-clock trips to the bathroom and suffered through sleepless night. I had to adjust my work schedule and get help from family. Then there was the fear we had contracted a more severe and chronic illness, as we later learned could have happened (arthritis, tubercolosis and salmonella, to name a few). Raw milk enthusiasts claim it can cure everything from asthma to allergies http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/. They even regularly cross state lines to buy unpasteurized milk in Pennsylvania, since the sale of such products are illegal in New Jersey. Maybe it does have health benefits. But after my experience, it's not worth the risk. Drinking raw milk is like playing Russian roulette with your health. When it comes to my children's health, it's not a game I'm willing to play. http://blog.nj.com/parentalguidance/...armenmilk.html _____ CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/chees..._spotlight.htm Raw Milk and Cheeses: Health Risks are Still Black and White bottle of raw milkEach year, people become ill from drinking raw milk and eating foods made from raw dairy products. Unlike most of the milk, cheese, and dairy products sold in the United States, raw milk and raw dairy products have not been heat treated or pasteurized to kill germs. Although many states outlaw the sale of these items, many people including dairy producers, farm workers and their families, and some ethnic groups continue to drink raw milk and eat foods made from raw dairy products. Several types of raw cheeses such as feta, brie, queso fresco, sheep’s and goat's milk cheese have been illegally sold in the United States. Germs in These Products Cause Thousands of Illnesses Raw milk and raw dairy products may carry many types of disease-causing germs such as Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Brucella. When raw milk or raw milk products become contaminated, people who eat the contaminated foods can get sick. Here are a few examples of outbreaks that have been reported since 2000: 2001: Outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni infections from drinking “raw” or unpasteurized milk. 2003: Outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections from eating unpasteurized queso fresco (a Mexican-style soft cheese) 2003: Outbreak of Salmonella infections from eating unpasteurized queso fresco. 2004: Outbreak of E. coli.O157 infections from eating unpasteurized queso fresco These Illnesses Can Be Dangerous unpasteurized cheeseGetting sick from one of these germs can lead to diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, headache, vomiting, or exhaustion. The misery typically lasts anywhere from several hours to a week or more but most healthy people will recover. These illnesses can be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly, children, and people with cancer, an organ transplant, or HIV/AIDS. Germs found in raw milk and raw dairy products can be especially dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn babies. _____ Journal of the American Medical Association:http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content...ct/252/15/2048 Meaningful differences in nutritional value between pasteurized and unpasteurized milk have not been demonstrated, and other purported benefits of raw milk consumption have not been substantiated. Conversely, the role of unpasteurized dairy products in the transmission of infectious diseases has been established repeatedly. To effectively counsel patients attracted by the health claims made for raw milk, practicing physicians must understand both the rationale used by proponents of raw milk and the magnitude of the risk involved in drinking raw milk. ______ 14 sick, 1 paralyzed from raw milk Illness halts raw milk program Published: August 16, 2008 By Nicholas Grube Triplicate staff writer Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms ended its raw milk program after several people who consumed the product got sick, including one Crescent City woman who remains in intensive care and is partially paralyzed. The Del Norte County Department of Public Health suspects at least 15 people who ingested raw milk contracted Campylobacter, a common bacteria found in domesticated animals that can cause gastrointestinal illness. Raw milk essentially comes straight from the udder and has become popular among health-conscious consumers. It is unpasteurized, and advocates say it contains beneficial microbes that help in digestion and provide increased nutrition. Three cases of Campylobacter infections have been documented by Del Norte County health officials since late June, and the other 12 are awaiting confirmation. ... The woman who became sick initially showed symptoms common with a Campylobacter infection, Martinelli said. This included episodes of abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. She later developed a form of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder that makes a person's immune system attack the peripheral nervous system and can result in paralysis. The syndrome is rare, but when it does occur it often is associated with a Campylobacter infection, medical studies have found. ... http://community.livejournal.com/nat...g/4713213.html _____ 5 possibly sick with campylobacter from raw milk in New York Posted: January 31st, 2010 - 9:17am Source: barfblog The New York State Department of Health and the State Department of Agriculture and Markets today warned consumers in Saratoga County and surrounding areas not to consume "unpasteurized" raw milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm located at 343 Hop City Road in Ballston Spa due to possible Campylobacter contamination. The state Health Department received 5 reports of Campylobacter enteritis, from people who have also consumed raw unpasteurized milk purchased from Willow Marsh Farm. The farm has voluntarily suspended milk sales since it was first notified of the reported illnesses on January 22. Preliminary tests concluded today at the New York State Food Laboratory found that raw unpasteurized milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm and collected on January 25 may be contaminated with Campylobacter. Final test results will be available in the coming week. If the raw milk sample is confirmed positive for Campylobacter, the producer will be prohibited from selling raw milk until subsequent sampling indicates that the product is free of pathogens. http://bites.ksu.edu/news/140627/10/...-milk-new-york _____ NY State Department of Health: Campylobacter Contamination Found in Raw Milk 5 Reports of Illness May be Related to Consuming Raw Milk from Saratoga Farm ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 29, 2010 ) -- The New York State Department of Health and the State Department of Agriculture and Markets today warned consumers in Saratoga County and surrounding areas NOT to consume "unpasteurized" raw milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm located at 343 Hop City Road in Ballston Spa due to possible Campylobacter contamination. The state Health Department received 5 reports of Campylobacter enteritis, from people who have also consumed raw unpasteurized milk purchased from Willow Marsh Farm. Campylobacter is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache, and muscle pain. The illness usually occurs two to five days after ingestion and generally lasts for seven to ten days. Anyone who purchased milk from Willow Marsh Farm and still has the product should discard it immediately. Individuals experiencing gastrointestinal illness symptoms after consuming milk purchased from Willow Marsh Farm should contact their health care provider. The farm has voluntarily suspended milk sales since it was first notified of the reported illnesses on January 22. Preliminary tests concluded today at the New York State Food Laboratory found that raw unpasteurized milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm and collected on January 25 may be contaminated with Campylobacter. Final test results will be available in the coming week. If the raw milk sample is confirmed positive for Campylobacter, the producer will be prohibited from selling raw milk until subsequent sampling indicates that the product is free of pathogens. Willow Marsh Farm holds a Department of Agriculture permit to legally sell raw milk at the farm. Routine samples are taken monthly and tested by the state Agriculture and Markets Department to determine whether the raw milk is free of pathogens. Raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization, which eliminates all pathogenic bacteria, including Campylobacter. Producers who sell raw milk to consumers must have a permit from the Department of Agriculture and must sell directly to consumers on the farm where the milk is produced. These producers must also post a notice at the point of sale indicating that raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization. Farms with permits to sell raw milk are inspected monthly by the Department. Bobby_Light, I of course respect your opinion, but I'm going to have to disagree here. Advocating the consumption of raw milk is contrary to the recommendations of nearly every government agency, health professionals, and goes against the peer-reviewed, published research of hundreds of academic and scientific sources. But, to each his own. I can imagine that raw milk probably does taste much smoother and silkier than pasteurized milk, though!
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