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Raw Milk strikes again! Don't read if you don't want to know.

29K views 452 replies 82 participants last post by  Oxankle 
#1 ·
New information about the dangers of raw milk. This is in a state that allows the sale of raw milk:
Date: Mon 30 Apr 2012
Source: Oregon Live [edited]
<http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/04/oregon_health_officials_add_tw.html>


Oregon health officials suspect 2 more illnesses are part of a raw milk outbreak traced nearly 3 weeks ago to a farm near Wilsonville.
William Keene, senior epidemiologist with Oregon Public Health, said the 2 adults had both consumed raw milk from Foundation Farm, including one who continued to drink it after being warned about the outbreak.

Keene said one was sickened by _Campylobacter_, the other by _Cryptosporidium_, making 21 likely cases in the outbreak. Ten others were infected with _E. coli_ O157. One of the worst foodborne pathogens, _E. coli_ O157:H7 was on rectal swabs from 2 of the farm's
4 cows. Milk and manure from the farm also tested positive for the same bacteria.

State epidemiologists did not test the cows or the environment for these other organisms, so they don't know for sure that the new cases are linked to Foundation Farm milk, but Keene said it's likely. "There is a long list of pathogens that people can get from raw milk," he said.

Four children who drank the milk were hospitalized with acute kidney failure, which is associated with _E. coli_ O157:H7. As of Fri 27 Apr 2012, they were still in the hospital, Keene said.

Two of the patients, aged 14 and 13, are Portland area middle schoolers. The others are 3 and one years old. A 5th child from Lane County, who drank the milk while visiting relatives in the Portland area, was hospitalized and released.

Foundation Farm, located on 5 acres in the Stafford area, had a herd-share operation for a least a year selling parts of cows to 48 families. In return, they had regular access to the raw milk.

Health officials also interviewed most of the families. They were surprised that a person continued to drink the milk even after being advised that it was contaminated. Keene said the 2nd patient went looking for a new source.

Just under 3 percent of Oregonians drink raw milk, according to a survey by Oregon Public Health. They tend to be passionate about it, despite public warnings.

"We've documented yet another unfortunate incident where people missed the boat on one of the great advances in public health, pasteurization," Keene said.
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You can get more information at :
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ho...aw-milk-much-more-likely-cause-illness-8.html
 
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#2 ·
I don't see listeria on the list. Listeriosis almost killed me last year. Had to have brain surgery and still haven't regained all muscle control after almost a year. Can't move my right foot at all and can barely lift my right leg. Had to install a left foot accelerator in my car.

I will never consume another raw product for the rest of my life, that's for sure. No salads, nothing. Definitely no lunchmeats or dairy.

We think I got it from a salad bar.
 
#4 ·
I don't see listeria on the list. Listeriosis almost killed me last year. Had to have brain surgery and still haven't regained all muscle control after almost a year. Can't move my right foot at all and can barely lift my right leg. Had to install a left foot accelerator in my car.

I will never consume another raw product for the rest of my life, that's for sure. No salads, nothing. Definitely no lunchmeats or dairy.

We think I got it from a salad bar.
The information in that thread and this one are just from the past 10-12 weeks. The last Listeria sicknesses from Raw Milk was over 6 months ago. I never heard any more about the guy in PA that became paralyzed from the Listeria in the raw milk he bought. I suspect he's recovered.
Just as you experienced, it is sometimes difficult locating the source of your sickness. If just one batch of salad was contaminated, by the time the Health Department gets back to that restaurant, it is gone. Same for a batch of raw milk. Only when the contamination is persistent, can its source be proven. Many cases of sickness from raw milk go unreported for a number of reasons.
I find it interesting that when a state, like OR and WA, legalizes the sale of raw milk, the number of reported cases of sickness from raw milk goes way up. Some would say it is due to the increased sales of raw milk. I’d say it is because people are not as afraid to report sickness from a legal purchase as they are for an illegal purchase.
 
#7 ·
That person represents the " Well, my uncle drank raw milk for 60 years and it didn't hurt him, therefore all raw milk is safe and Lab results to the contrary are part of a government plot funded by Big Ag." group.:peep:
To me that person represents the portion of the population that is just plain stupid, guess what I hear you can't cure stupid..

As to raw milk I drink it from my own stock, just like any other food product you must take precautions with cleanliness and the health of the animals. I can't drink pasteurized milk as it causes major intestinal issues :tmi:. I also make cheese and butter from my homegrown milk..
 
#8 ·
I thought Dollmaker might find this interesting:

MDARD continues to work with a Southeast Michigan dairy plant with confirmed Listeria monocytogenes contamination that has recurred in two cheese products. Production of the two products has been ceased and the plant is reassessing its sanitation program.
 
#10 ·
"State epidemiologists did not test the cows or the environment for these other organisms, so they don't know for sure that the new cases are linked to Foundation Farm milk, but Keene said it's likely."

I am not interested in debating the good/bad of raw milk but putting this out without testing is poor science.
"Milk and manure from the farm also tested positive for the same bacteria."
One must then question, where did the milk and manure originate?

If the milk had bacteria and the cow's manure had the same bacteria, do we need to test the cow to satisfy you?
If a chicken lays an egg with bacteria, and shoots out some chicken poo that tests positive for that same bacteria, it isn't really critical to test the chicken to see if the egg she just laid is contaminated.
 
#11 ·
"Milk and manure from the farm also tested positive for the same bacteria."
One must then question, where did the milk and manure originate?

If the milk had bacteria and the cow's manure had the same bacteria, do we need to test the cow to satisfy you?
If a chicken lays an egg with bacteria, and shoots out some chicken poo that tests positive for that same bacteria, it isn't really critical to test the chicken to see if the egg she just laid is contaminated.
The same bacteria that was referred to was E_Coli.
 
#14 ·
More Illnesses Linked to Raw Milk From Oregon Farm

Here is part of that news report:

"Raw milk is essentially a suspension of fecal organisms in a nutrient broth," explains Keene. "Milk is a great growth medium for bacteria and raw milk is always contaminated with fecal-oral organisms. It's a question of whether that particular tank has got something from an animal that happened to be shedding cryptosporidium or E. coli or whatever."
Campylobacter is a bacterium transmitted through animal feces that causes diarrhea (often bloody), abdominal pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms typically appear 2-5 days after exposure, but can begin up to 10 days after ingestion.
Cryptosporidium is a parasite - often spread through water contamination. Cryptosporidium infections are characterized by abdominal cramps or pain, dehydration, nausea, vomiting, fever and weight loss.
 
#17 ·
You left these parts out, why?

It is not clear whether these illnesses came from the farm's raw milk or from another source, says William Keene, Senior Epidemiologist at the Oregon Public Health Division. And without more than one illness, neither of these cases will be classified as part of an outbreak.

or this:

However, when investigating last month's E. coli outbreak linked to the farm, there were some unconfirmed illnesses that Keene says were not definitively identified as E. coli.
 
#18 ·
You left these parts out, why?

It is not clear whether these illnesses came from the farm's raw milk or from another source, says William Keene, Senior Epidemiologist at the Oregon Public Health Division. And without more than one illness, neither of these cases will be classified as part of an outbreak.

or this:

However, when investigating last month's E. coli outbreak linked to the farm, there were some unconfirmed illnesses that Keene says were not definitively identified as E. coli.
The statement "It is not clear whether these illnesses came from the farm's raw milk or from another source" was about the two guys that had Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium. The Health Department had been testing for e coli and it would be too late to go back and test those samples for Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium. The e coli they are very clear on.
In addition to the 18 that they proved came from that farm, several others got sick but were not tested and therefore not definitively a part of that same outbreak.

I gave the links, even added more links. Not hiding anything. Would be easier to explain if the readers understood the culture process and the reasons for the limited testing.
 
#21 ·
This was the only photo I saw, it was with the newspaper article. Why do you ask?
Perhaps it is their whole farm.
It's obvious that the picture you posted is only a small part of the farm. You can see that the electric fencing goes beyound the image boundry. It appears that the picture taker wants us to think that the liquid in the picture is waste product and that is how the cows are being contaminated. But, it's only 1 picture, i would like to see more of their farm. The chicken trailer and pen look good.
 
#22 ·
The statement "It is not clear whether these illnesses came from the farm's raw milk or from another source" was about the two guys that had Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium. The Health Department had been testing for e coli and it would be too late to go back and test those samples for Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium. The e coli they are very clear on.
In addition to the 18 that they proved came from that farm, several others got sick but were not tested and therefore not definitively a part of that same outbreak.

I gave the links, even added more links. Not hiding anything. Would be easier to explain if the readers understood the culture process and the reasons for the limited testing.
I read the article and that made me wounder why you didn't mention these statements, yet you posted most of the article, including the picture. You said your not hiding anything, so why did you omit these statements? Do you have an agenda that these statements disagree with? Just curious.
 
#23 ·
I was under the impression that pretty much all farms and farm animals carry ecoli. Pretty much all fecal matter will have some ecoli. The problem is when it gets to be in large amounts. Saying the animals tested positive for ecoli is a mute point for me. Finding it the milk - might be. How much? In amounts enough to make people sick? They didn't say, did they?
 
#24 ·
I was under the impression that pretty much all farms and farm animals carry ecoli. Pretty much all fecal matter will have some ecoli. The problem is when it gets to be in large amounts. Saying the animals tested positive for ecoli is a mute point for me. Finding it the milk - might be. How much? In amounts enough to make people sick? They didn't say, did they?
The amount of e coli to make a person sick varies. I guess if you land in the hospital and organs shut down, that is an e coli level high enough to make you sick.

Nice to hear that you think e coli in milk might be a problem.
 
#25 · (Edited)
It's obvious that the picture you posted is only a small part of the farm. You can see that the electric fencing goes beyound the image boundry. It appears that the picture taker wants us to think that the liquid in the picture is waste product and that is how the cows are being contaminated. But, it's only 1 picture, i would like to see more of their farm. The chicken trailer and pen look good.
I didn't take the picture. I didn't write the article. I didn't advise the Health Officials on what samples to take. I just posted the news. You think I'm anti-raw milk, do you now think the reporter is anti-raw milk and took a photo to smear the farm?

From the article I posted, " Foundation Farm, located on five acres in the Stafford area" That photo didn't show all of their 5 acres, but it showed a good bit of it.
 
#26 ·
It's obvious that the picture you posted is only a small part of the farm. You can see that the electric fencing goes beyound the image boundry. It appears that the picture taker wants us to think that the liquid in the picture is waste product and that is how the cows are being contaminated. But, it's only 1 picture, i would like to see more of their farm. The chicken trailer and pen look good.
Well, drive up there and take a look. Feel free to post photos of the farm. Heck, post some photos of your trip. I hear the coast is beautiful this time of the year.
 
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