Health officials report on food-borne bacteria outbreak

Raw milk culprit in spring illnesses

In late April the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and public health officials from Gunnison and Montrose counties began tracing a bout of illness that left affected individuals with diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

Upon investigation, a CDPHE field epidemiologist determined the symptoms were due to an outbreak of campylobacter infections that resulted from the consumption of unpasteurized, or raw, milk.
According to the Center for Disease Control, campylobacter is one of the most common causes of diarrheal illness in the United States. Most cases occur as isolated, sporadic events, not as part of recognized outbreaks. However, outbreaks of campylobacter have most often been associated with unpasteurized dairy products, contaminated water, poultry, and produce.
Gunnison Public Health reported the preliminary results of CDPHE investigation to the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners last week, and according to the state, the raw milk that caused the infection was traced to the private cow herd-share operation, Parker Pastures, located in Gunnison County.
“It’s very easy for bacteria of all types to contaminate milk during the milking process,” said CDPHE epidemiologist Alicia Cronquist. “If you think about the anatomy of a cow, everything is very close together and even with good practices contamination can occur. If milk has not been pasteurized it is very possible to have a wide range of unwanted extras moving on to consumers.”
Upon notification of the presence of campylobacter in its milk, the business voluntarily suspended distribution of raw milk pending completion of the state’s investigation, and has since stopped offering its herd-share program.
“By all appearances it was a very clean operation,” said Cronquist. “Samples taken from the dairy and tested in both state and private labs after the initial outbreak were free from campylobacter.”
According to Colorado law it is not legal to sell unpasteurized milk in the state; however, individuals may drink raw milk from a cow that they own. Herd-shares operate under this umbrella, but that doesn’t mean they are sanctioned by the state health department.
“It’s important for the public to understand that there is no state inspection of dairies that produce unpasteurized milk. Everything may look clean and can seem safe, yet people can still become sick,” said Cronquist.
Five cases of campylobacter were confirmed in Montrose, Gunnison and Eagle counties and another 20 were suspected. Those affected ranged in age from two years old to 59 years old. In addition, illnesses like this are often underreported said Carol Worrall, Gunnison County public health director.
The CDPHE is currently working to finish its complete report of the incident, and from start to finish it’s a process that has taken a lot of personnel hours, said Worrall during her presentation to the county commissioners.
“The CDPHE was going to be compiling the hours and the cost of the investment [for the investigation],” Worrall said. “We still don’t have it but I thought it would be interesting to know what the burden to public health is on that investment.”