Alaska Issues Health Advisory Over Raw Milk

JUNEAUThe Alaska Division of Public Health (ADPH) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Feb. l5 issued a health advisory warning the public not to consume raw milk, which may be the cause of a recent outbreak of Campylobacter infections in the Kenai Peninsula.

Since late January, 2013, four people with confirmed Campylobacter infections and at least one person with probable infection reported consuming raw (unpasteurized) milk in the few days preceding illness. One infant with close contact to a confirmed case-patient is also suspected of having Campylobacter infection; all six reside on the Kenai Peninsula. The Campylobacter isolated from the four lab-confirmed cases are a match by molecular techniques (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE). This strain of Campylobacter has not been previously identified in Alaska.

Campylobacter outbreaks are often associated with consumption of unpasteurized milk. One such outbreak traced to a Mat-Su Valley farm in Alaska resulted in 18 illnesses in 2011.

In February 2012, the raw milk made headlines after a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed the rate of outbreaks caused by raw milk and products made from it was 150 times greater than outbreaks linked to pasteurized milk, and recent. 13-year review also revealed that the states where the sale of raw milk was legal had more than twice the rate of outbreaks as states where it was illegal.