More Campylobacter Cases Expected in Family Cow Milk Outbreak PA MD WV NJ
Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia have all been affected by an outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni associated with raw milk from The Family Cow dairy farm in Chambersburg, Pa. The official count of 38 laboratory confirmed illnesses at week's end was expected to grow.
Because raw milk is not pasteurized, disease-causing organisms like Campylobacter, which grow in the intestines of cows and other animals, can translocate, survive the bottling process and multiply once inside a plastic jug or any other container. Children, the elderly and people who have weakened immune systems are most at risk for serious illness. Campylobacter infections, in particular, can lead to a life-threatening complication known as GBS, or Guillain-Barre' Syndrome.
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In The Family Cow Campylobacter outbreak that began in mid-January, half of the victims have been under the age of 18. The ages of all case patients range from 2 to 74 and some individuals have been hospitalized. GBS can cause acute muscular paralysis and respiratory failure. By far, the largest number of illnesses (31) are in Pennsylvania, where Family Cow raw milk is sold at health food stores and drop points around Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, eastern Pennsylvania and the south-central region.
National food poisoning law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is conducting its own investigation and has noted a special finding by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.The DHMH Laboratories Administration has confirmed the presence of Campylobacter jejuni in two unopened raw milk samples purchased from this farm. This scientific link between the outbreak and Family Cow raw milk will be an important element in any outbreak-related Pennsylvania raw milk lawsuit.
Fred Pritzker, founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, is scheduled to debate the question of raw milk safety at Harvard University Law School Feb. 16. His firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and he has collected millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning while also actively working on causes to stop bacterial contamination of our food supply.
Families and individuals harmed in the current raw milk outbreak in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia can contact a food illness lawyer at PritzkerOlsen or call the firm directly at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Case consultations are free and clients are not required to pay unless and until a claim is secured for them.
PritzkerOlsen attorneys currently represent the family of a 67-year-old man from Mars, Pennsylvania, who was paralyzed as a result of drinking raw milk tainted with Campylobacter. Allegheny County is the location of that Pennsylvania raw milk lawsuit.
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That's what state health officials have told reporter David Wenner of The Patriot-News, painting a picture of a raw milk outbreak that has sent some of its victims to the hospital. The epidemiological evidence of causality was strong enough after the first illnesses were confirmed late last week for Maryland and Pennsylvania public health officials to alert consumers not to drink any Family Cow raw milk purchased since January 1. That consumer advisory is still in effect as investigators await smoking gun molecular evidence that the outbreak strain of Campylobacter is in the milk..jpg)
It's illegal to sell unpasteurized milk in Maryland, but some consumers told authorities they have purchased the milk at pre-determined drop-off points.
Proponents say raw milk contains healthful microorganisms that pasteurized milk does not, and that drinking it can aid digestion, boost the immune system and ease the symptoms of allergies and asthma.
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Three Michigan residents contracted Q fever after consuming raw milk. They each acknowledged obtaining raw milk from a Livingston County farm, where they participate in a dairy herd share program. Herd or cow share programs are where members own part of a cow and in return receive raw dairy products. These programs are not inspected or regulated under Michigan’s dairy laws, and these products are not available at retail stores..jpg)
Since November, three similar cases had been reported to the state and were under investigation. All four cases have been linked to exposure to raw milk and three have been linked to one dairy farm, the release said. Officials didn't name the farm, but WFAA-TV of Dallas/Ft. Worth reported that state investigators were testing for Salmonella at Lavon Farms in Plano, where one of the victims allegedly purchased raw milk.
As often happens in such presentations, the conversation turned to raw milk. Under Canadian law, it is apparently illegal to sell or purvey raw milk in any fashion (unlike in the US where many states allow some commercial raw milk sales). One of the officers of the Department raised an interesting question about raw milk in the context of personal freedom vs. governmental regulation of a potentially dangerous commodity. He asked me whether it is appropriate to regulate a commodity like raw milk if a consumer, knowledgeable about its risks and dangers, nevertheless chooses to drink it. In other words, treat it like “informed consent” in the context of a medical procedure: there is utility with attendant risk. If the risks are fully explained and the consumer/patient judges there to be sufficient utility to justify the risk, why should the government intrude?
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A press release from the Minnesota Department of Health said lab tests provided evidence that the same strain of .jpg)
The lawsuit alleges that 67-year-old James Orchard became paralyzed from a .jpg)
The Pasture Maid Creamery lawsuit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheney County. It alleges that 67-year-old James Orchard became paralyzed from a Campylobacter infection he suffered from unpasteurized Pasture Maid milk that health investigators later found to be contaminated..jpg)
Several days prior to the onset of his illness, Orchard and other members of his family, consumed raw milk purchased at the McGinnis Sisters Special Foods Store in Mars, PA on March 16, 2010. The raw milk was produced by Dean Farms doing business as Pasture Maid, LLC, a creamery located in New Castle, PA..jpg)
The latest warning is coming out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania..jpg)
The products have "sell-by" dates of November 27 and later and are believed to have been distributed primarily in southern Wisconsin, including the Madison area, according to the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper. The dairy plant number 55131 is on the label.
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