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SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, August 28, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, August 28, 2009
CONTACT: Clark Hepper, (605) 773-4945
Health officials warn consumers of raw milk health risks
PIERRE, S.D. – The Department of Health is reminding consumers that unpasteurized milk can contain harmful bacteria and result in serious illness.
Bacteria from animals can contaminate the milk during milking. Such bacteria include E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, Brucella or Mycobacterium.
“Nearly every year in South Dakota, our health department receives reports of people sick with Salmonella or Campylobacter because they consumed unpasteurized milk, cheese or yogurt,” said Clark Hepper, Administrator of Health Protection for the department. “In fact, one of our largest Salmonella outbreaks happened back in 1994 when 58 people ate raw cheese made from unpasteurized milk at a community festival and became ill.”
Hepper said E. coli outbreaks in South Dakota have also been associated with raw milk.
Young children, pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems are at highest risk for illness from contaminated milk. Heating or pasteurizing the milk kills the bacterial contamination and prevents human illness. Pasteurization has been widely used for over 100 years and has been very important in improving public health and safety.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that pasteurization can prevent such contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, polio, Q fever, salmonellosis, strep throat, scarlet fever and typhoid fever. For more information about the health risks of raw milk, visit the FDA’s foodborne illness web site, http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/foodborn.html. Information about specific illnesses that can be caused by consuming unpasteurized milk can be found on the department’s web site at http://doh.sd.gov/diseasefacts/.
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