It’s fair season, and a new crop of parents is taking excited youngsters to county and state fairs across the country so they can see the farm animals. Not only see them, but pet them as well. Maybe even kiss them.
Stop right there, many veterinarians and fair directors will say. Before heading to the…
Eleven confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis from infection by the microscopic parasite Cryptosporidium have been traced back to the Heaven on Earth Farm in Easton, PA, according to a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Heaven on Earth Farm is a
This photo from the Heaven on Earth Farm shows some…
Watch children when they enter a petting zoo. Just about always, their faces light up with joy at seeing the animals as their hands reach out to touch them.
Ask parents why they take children to petting zoos or farm animal exhibits at fairs and most will tell you that they think it’s important for…
For the first time since CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report last year documented two siblings with cryptosporidiosis associated with raw milk consumption, a state is blaming an invasion of the microscopic parasites on raw milk. 
New Mexico officials want people to dump raw milk, warning the Cryptosporidium parasite causes a diarrheal disease known as…
An outbreak of Cryptosporidium infection has been building for the past two weeks in central Ohio, with the number of cases hitting 209 as of Friday. The cases are scattered among Columbus, Franklin and Delaware counties. The current total exceeds the combined cases from the past four years, said Jose Rodriguez, a spokesman for Columbus…
Update: As of Nov. 6 , 70 people who attended the Pike County Color Drive on Oct. 17-18. and drank apple cider have become ill. Victims range in age from less than one year to 89 years old. Laboratory results are currently pending, per samples submitted to both the IDPH lab in Illinois and the…
At least 11 people in Idaho were sickened with Cryptosporidiosis in August 2014 after consuming unpasteurized goat’s milk, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
This is the first public announcement of outbreak. The outbreak first came to the attention of health authorities when two siblings, both…
Following the death of a 3-year-old boy and hospitalizations of other children last month, the Australian state of Victoria has significantly restricted the sale of raw milk labeled as “bath” milk, which is said to be labeled as such to circumvent Australia’s ban on sales of raw milk for human consumption. Beginning Jan. 1, all…
A 3-year-old boy has died and four other children have fallen ill in an E. coli and Cryptosporidium outbreak linked to raw milk sold by a company based in Victoria, Australia. The milk, Mountain View Organic Bath Milk, was labeled as being “for cosmetic use only” and “not for human consumption,” as well as “organic,…
The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County has issued a health alert for the county after 58 cases of a parasitic illness had been reported as of July 29. Cryptosporidium is a parasite found in contaminated water, and can make people very sick. Symptoms include severe cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. “It really has to…
When it comes to food safety concerns, foodborne parasites might not receive as much attention in the U.S. compared to bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella. Globally, however, foodborne parasites affect the health of millions of people annually, causing debilitating and potentially deadly conditions and sometimes living within humans for years. A new report…
