Days after a New Mexico newborn’s death was linked to the mother drinking raw milk while pregnant, health officials say 9 people were sickened in Idaho from non-pasteurized milk
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- Nine people, including two children, have been hospitalized in Ohio’s Ada County after they reported drinking the same brand of raw milk, per the local health agency
- It’s part of an ongoing increase in raw milk-related illnesses in the country
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control advises people to drink milk that has been pasteurized, as raw milk producers “cannot guarantee safety from harmful germs”
Nine people — including two children — have been hospitalized in Idaho’s Ada County with complications of E. coli infections after drinking raw milk, health officials say.
Health officials said laboratory testing confirmed the presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, or (STEC). It’s “one of the most potent bacterial toxins known,” the National Library of Medicine says.
The toxin can cause “cause severe foodborne illness, including bloody diarrhea and vomiting, and may lead to serious complications, particularly in children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems,” Central District Health officials said in a press release announcing the outbreak.
“Two children are hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a rare but serious complication of E. coli infection that can lead to kidney failure and long-term health problems. One case has laboratory-confirmed STEC infection; the second is epidemiologically linked based on reported consumption of the same brand of raw milk as other confirmed cases,” the officials say…