It keeps on keeping on...
Nov. 3rd, 2010 11:21 amAnd the dairy that was earlier this year cited with causing an E. coli outbreak is now associated with both campylobacter and cryptosporidiosis infections in consumers.
Hartmann’s farm was implicated as the source of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections in May and June. As a part of this earlier illness outbreak, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) ordered Hartmann to stop selling milk until he addressed the unsanitary conditions on his farm. MDA also directed him to comply with the state law that allows for the sale of unpasteurized milk only on the farm at which the milk was produced. It is not clear how the seven new ill people acquired the product...(Minnesota Department of Health Foodborne Diseases Unit Supervisor Kirk) Smith noted that in addition to the illnesses associated with the Hartmann farm, MDH has identified 47 other people since Jan. 1, 2010 who became ill after drinking raw milk from a variety of sources throughout the state; none of these 47 cases was part of an identified outbreak (no two cases reported the same source). Most of the individual cases have been in children or young adults.
“While we are very concerned about the ongoing illnesses associated with this one farm, this isn’t just about one farm selling raw milk and making people sick,” Smith said. “This also is about the inherent risk of any raw milk. People need to think carefully about those risks before consuming raw dairy products from any source, and people need to know that the risks are especially high for young children.”