Raw Milk Consumption Sickens 15 in Utah

SALT LAKE CITYThe Utah Department of Health is investigating two separate clusters of illness linked to the consumption of raw milk. The first cluster includes nine reported cases of Campylobacter infection among residents in Weber, Davis and Cache Counties. The second cluster includes six reported cases of Salmonella infection in residents in Utah, Salt Lake and Wasatch Counties. All of the patients involved have reported drinking raw milk (unpasteurized milk) purchased at local vendors licensed in the State of Utah to sell raw milk.

Raw milk from the two dairies has been tested for several bacteria. The dairy in central Utah that produced the raw milk linked to the Salmonella illness cluster provided samples of raw milk produced from April 5 to April 22. These samples came back positive for Salmonella. However, raw milk samples taken from milk produced by the dairy collected April 22 to April 30 have come back negative for Salmonella.

Coliform testing done on milk at the dairy in northern Utah linked to the Campylobacter illness cluster came back high for coliform counts. High coliform counts may be linked to the presence of disease-causing pathogens in the milk.