Six people have been infected with Campylobacter in an outbreak linked to raw milk from a farm in Pennsylvania, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Friday.
Three cases of campylobacteris have been reported in Pennsylvania and three in Maryland. All six infected individuals drank unpasteurized milk from the Family Cow dairy in Chambersburg, PA, according to the health department news release.
Campylobacter is a bacterial cause of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and can progress to more serious illness, such as a bloodstream infection and other complications. For example, Campylobacter infection is the most common cause of a rare disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome, which may result in permanent paralysis.
The Family Cow dairy sells directly to consumers at its on-farm retail store and at several drop-off locations and retail stores in nine Pennsylvania counties: Bucks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Lebanon, Montgomery, Philadelphia and York.
The sale of unpasteurized milk is illegal under Maryland state law.
The Maryland health department, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, is recommending that consumers discard raw milk purchased since Jan. 1 from the implicated farm. The milk is labeled “raw milk” and is sold under the “Your Family Cow” label in plastic gallon, half gallon, quart and pint containers.
