Campylobacter Found in Family Cow Raw Milk Produced by Shankstead EcoFarm: Victims in PA, MD, NJ and WV
(Update to the post below: The outbreak has now grown to 76 confirmed cases in 4 states, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia. Read our latest update on the Family Cow raw milk campylobacteriosis outbreak.)
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) Laboratories Administration has confirmed the presence of Campylobacter jejuni in two unopened raw milk samples purchased from The Family Cow dairy in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (Franklin County). To date, there are 23 confirmed outbreak-related campylobacteriosis cases: 4 in Maryland and 19 in Pennsylvania, all of whom consumed Family Cow raw milk.
DHMH is continuing to advise consumers who purchased raw milk produced by The Family Cow dairy in Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, to discard any product purchased from this farm since January 1, 2012:
The implicated milk is labeled “raw milk” (meaning, not pasteurized) and is sold under “The Family Cow” label in plastic gallon, half gallon, quart and pint containers. The Family Cow dairy sells directly to consumers at its on-farm retail store and at multiple drop-off locations and retail stores in the following Pennsylvania counties: Bucks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Lebanon, Montgomery, Philadelphia and York counties.
Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized. Pasteurization is performed by briefly heating raw milk to kill disease-causing germs (e.g., Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157, Campylobacter) that can be found in raw milk. Maryland state law prohibits the sale of unpasteurized milk.
Tags: Campylobacter, Campylobacter Raw Milk, Raw Milk Lawsuit
