FDA warns raw milk consumers of new campylobacteria outbreak from one source

Did you know that an attack of summer diarrhea can turn on early labor if you're pregnant? That's why hospitals used to give women enemas to start labor, and in the 1940s, advised women to eat prunes to bring on labor that usually followed cramps and diarrhea from eating a specific amount of prunes. But the usual August diarrhea from bacteria in raw milk is another issue. The point is don't drink raw milk or eat raw milk cheeses or even hot dogs because your immunity is down and so is the immunity of your unborn child.

Just two weeks ago, the FDA warned consumers not to drink raw milk from a specific raw milk dairy because of possible contamination with campylbacteriosis, the most common type of bacteria that causes severe diarrhea and related symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. You don't want what you'd call 'stomach flu.'

The FDA is warning consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy of York, S.C. Check out the July 16, 2011 news release, Foodborne Outbreak Associated With Raw Milk From Tucker Adkins Dairy. This milk product comes from a dairy in North Carolina, where it is illegal to distribute raw milk in final package form for direct human consumption in interstate commerce. Three confirmed cases and five probable cases of campylobacteriosis in North Carolina are associated with raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy.

Campylobacter is one of the most common causes of diarrheal illness in the United States. What can Sacramento consumers learn from this latest news? There has been a history of various types of bacteria outbreaks causing illnesses in the past because companies did not test their raw milk under the microscope before turning it into dairy products. Retail sale of raw milk for human consumption is also illegal in North Carolina. But in Sacramento, you can buy raw milk, raw milk cheeses, and raw quephor in some health food stores and food markets here.

What people who package and distribute raw milk have to look for in the milk are pathogens harmful to human health, including Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Tuberculosis, Listeria, Diphtheria and Brucella. People buying raw milk here need to know what's in the raw milk. At least those who are pregnant or elderly with low immunity can know what they face when drinking raw milk.

The FDA is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy on June 14, 2011. The onset of illness in these cases occurred in mid June. One person was hospitalized.

On one hand, you have many people in Sacramento who want to drink raw milk. On the other hand you have the FDA recommending that consumers only drink pasteurized milk. And you have the holistic health enthusiasts telling you that drinking pasteurized milk is not as healthy as drinking raw milk because the heating process destroys the phosphatase in the milk that you need for the absorption of calcium. So who do you believe? See the site, Pasteurization is root cause of people becoming sick. And see the other side, Pasteurization doesn't cut down the nutritional values of raw milk. Also see the articles, Which do you choose? A Comparison of pasteurized and raw milk, and WHISTLEBLOWERS - Pasteurization is root cause of people becoming sick.

According to the CDC, raw milk is unpasteurized milk from hoofed mammals, such as cows, sheep, or goats. Raw milk may contain a wide variety of harmful bacteria – including Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Campylobacter and Brucella -- that may cause illness and possibly death. Public health authorities, including FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have expressed concerns about the hazards of drinking raw milk for decades.

Symptoms of illness caused by various bacteria commonly found in raw milk may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache and body ache. Most healthy individuals recover quickly from illness caused by raw milk. However, some people may have more severe illness, and the harmful bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous for pregnant women, the elderly, infants, young children and people with weakened immune systems.

If consumers of raw milk are experiencing one or more of these symptoms after consuming raw milk or food products made from raw milk, they should contact their health care provider immediately. Since 1987, the FDA has required all milk packaged for human consumption to be pasteurized before being delivered for introduction into interstate commerce. Pasteurization, a process that heats milk to a specific temperature for a set period of time, kills bacteria responsible for diseases, such as listeriosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and brucellosis. FDA's pasteurization requirement also applies to other milk products, with the exception of a few aged cheeses.

From 1998 to 2008, 85 outbreaks of human infections resulting from consumption of raw milk were reported to CDC. These outbreaks included a total of 1,614 reported illnesses, 187 hospitalizations and 2 deaths. Because not all cases of foodborne illness are recognized and reported, the actual number of illnesses associated with raw milk likely is greater.

Proponents of drinking raw milk often claim that raw milk is more nutritious than pasteurized milk and that raw milk is inherently antimicrobial, thus making pasteurization unnecessary. The government's stance is that there is no meaningful nutritional difference between pasteurized and raw milk, and raw milk does not contain compounds that will kill harmful bacteria.

Campylobacteriosis's symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, often mistaken for "stomach flu"

Most people who become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within two to five days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Most people who get campylobacteriosis recover completely within two to five days, although sometimes recovery can take up to 10 days.

This bacteria can turn on an autoimmune disease. Rarely, campylobacter infection results in long-term consequences. Some people develop arthritis. Others may develop a rare disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome that affects the nerves of the body beginning several weeks after the diarrheal illness. This occurs when a person's immune system is "triggered" to attack the body's own nerves resulting in paralysis that lasts several weeks and usually requires intensive care, according to the CDC. It is estimated that approximately one in every 1,000 reported campylobacter illnesses leads to Guillain-Barre syndrome. As many as 40% of Guillain-Barre syndrome cases in this country may be triggered by campylobacteriosis.

This Bacteria Causes Most of the Diarrhea in the US

Campylobacter is one of the most common causes of diarrheal illness in the United States. The organism is isolated from infants and young adults more frequently than from persons in other age groups and from males more frequently than females. Although campylobacter does not commonly cause death, it has been estimated that approximately 124 persons with campylobacter infections die each year.

To prevent this disease, the FDA recommends that consumers only drink pasteurized milk, and those who may have raw milk produced by Tucker Adkins Dairy should dispose of that product. The raw milk associated with the illness was in one-gallon containers and was distributed in North Carolina by a courier. It is unknown whether the raw milk may have been distributed in other states.

Do you belong to a raw milk club? Raw milk is sometimes distributed in North Carolina via independent or informal "milk clubs," though it may be distributed through other means as well. The cases in this investigation report receiving raw milk twice a month from a courier who delivered the milk from South Carolina. While it is believed the full distribution by this courier is limited, this information is not fully understood at this time. It is unknown whether any of the milk in question ended up in Sacramento.

FDA, according to its press release, currently is investigating the problem in collaboration with the North Carolina Division of Public Health and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The investigation is ongoing. The FDA is also working with state authorities to take appropriate action to address any product that may be remaining on the market. For further information, check out the sites, FDA: Raw Milk May Pose Health Risk, CDC: Food Safety and Raw Milk, and What is Campylobacter?

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