The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is issuing a warning to people in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey about contaminated raw milk and urging anyone who consumed raw milk from Udder Milk to see a doctor.
People who bought and drank raw milk from Udder Milk might have been infected with a rare but potentially serious germ called Brucella abortus RB51, according to the CDC. While Brucella can cause anyone to become sick, women might suffer miscarriage and other pregnancy complications so it is critical for pregnant women who might have consumed the raw milk from Udder Milk to seek medical care immediately.
In late September, a New Jersey woman became ill after drinking raw milk from the company, according to the CDC.
Because Udder Milk has not provided information about the farms that supply their milk, the CDC said it is not been possible to trace the source of the woman’s infection.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are working with state health and agriculture officials to trace the source of the contaminated raw milk and raw milk products.
The CDC recommends that anyone who drank raw milk or consumed raw milk products from Udder Milk in the past six months visit their doctor for antibiotics to prevent illness and they said information suggests that the company delivers milk in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
“Because health officials have no direct way to let people know they may have drunk contaminated milk, everyone who consumed milk from Udder Milk in the past 6 months should receive antibiotics now to avoid having long-term health effects from the bacteria,” William Bower, M.D., team lead for the CDC group that investigates brucellosis, the illness caused by RB51, said in a statement.
Local
The New Jersey patient is the second known domestically acquired illness caused by Brucella RB51 in raw milk in the United States this year; the other was in Texas in July. The Texas and New Jersey incidents are not connected.
