A new report describes how raw, unpasteurized milk in Tennessee likely caused infections in people, including infants, one of whom developed kidney failure.
The report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) discusses two babies who developed E. Coli infections after being fed raw milk from a cow-sharing arrangement in Tennessee.
Often called “herd-shares,” such arrangements get around bans on raw milk sales by legally allowing people to buy part of a herd or of a single animal so that they can consume unpasteurized milk. Participants in herd-share operations pay a farmer to care for and milk the animals.
The babies discussed in the new CIDRAP report developed diarrhea between July 25 and Aug. 1, 2022. Testing revealed Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Both households received raw milk from participants in the same cow share. The baby who developed kidney failure (hemolytic uremic syndrome) was hospitalized for 27 days.
FoodWorld 