29 July 2023
One Twin Cities child was hospitalized and four others became ill with Salmonella after health officials believe they consumed unpasteurized milk. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, families of two of the children confirmed that the raw milk had been consumed. Information from the other families was not available, but a lab analysis showed the bacteria that made all five children ill came from the same source.
The children who fell ill range in age from three months to 10 years and were sick between the end of June and early July. One child was hospitalized.
Unpasteurized milk, also known as raw milk, is milk that has not been heated to a temperature high enough to kill harmful germs from fecal contamination sometimes found in the milk, the health department said in a news release.
“Even healthy animals can carry these germs and have them in their milk,” said Maria Bye, senior epidemiologist in the Zoonotic Diseases Unit at MDH. “Consuming any unpasteurized milk is risky, no matter how clean the operation from which it is purchased.”
Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps from six hours to several days after consuming contaminated foods or touching infected animals. Usually the infection lasts from four to seven days. People under age 5 and over 65 or those with weakened immune systems are most at risk for severe illness and hospitalization.
The health department is asking people not to consume any raw or unpasteurized milk they now have.
If someone has fallen ill after consuming unpasteurized milk at the end of June or beginning of July, the health department is asking them to fill out a confidential online survey at their website or email [email protected].
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