Raw milk from a California farm has been linked to dozens of salmonella illnesses, a much larger outbreak than previously known, based on newly released state documents.
As of February, at the very least 165 people were recorded as having been sickened by salmonella infections linked to products from the Fresno, California-based Raw Farm. Health officials say it’s the biggest reported salmonella outbreak linked to raw milk within the United States previously decade.
The announcement of the extent of the outbreak comes as health officials warn the general public Avoid unpasteurized milk as a consequence of a bird flu virus circulating in American dairy cows. The bird flu, often known as type A H5N1, has been detected in greater than 140 American dairy herds, and federal health officials say the virus has been detected in high levels in raw milk.
State and native health officials had not informed the general public of the total extent of the salmonella outbreak since October, when authorities in San Diego reported a couple of dozen cases. At that point, Raw Farm voluntarily recalled milk and cream sold between October 11 and November 6.
But the variety of cases continued to mount, based on documents obtained by Bill Marler, a Seattle-based food safety attorney who provided the documents to The Associated Press. Marler said he represents 16 clients who allegedly became sick within the outbreak.
Investigators compared samples from sick individuals with samples from the farm and a retail store, the documents say. More than 60% of the people interviewed with confirmed infections said that they had consumed Raw Farm products. People infected were from 4 states, however the overwhelming majority – 162 – were from California. Four of the individuals with salmonella were also infected with campylobacter and/or dangerous E. coli bacteria, the documents say.
Nearly 40 percent of the cases affected children under five, authorities said. Twenty people were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
California health officials said Wednesday they conducted a “thorough” investigation in collaboration with local teams and state agriculture agencies and informed the general public concerning the outbreak through the recall notice in October and social media posts in October, November and December. The outbreak ended on May 4, officials said. It shouldn’t be clear whether additional cases were reported after February.
Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee acknowledged that his products were a part of the outbreak. He said a single cow was infected with salmonella last fall and later faraway from the herd. He said he implemented additional testing protocols in response to the outbreak.
Jessie McGee, 35, of San Pedro, California, said she plans to sue Raw Farm because her 6-year-old daughter was hospitalized in October with a confirmed infection linked to the outbreak. McGee said she read online concerning the purported health advantages of raw milk and started drinking Raw Farm products and giving them to her daughter and 2-year-old twins. All three children and McGee became sick, she said, but her older daughter’s symptoms of high fever and abdominal cramps were the worst.
After this ordeal, McGee said she would now not drink unpasteurized milk.
“None of the potential benefits you could get from milk are worth it,” she said.
