Two families whose three young children became deathly ill in July 2008 from consuming E. coli O157:H7 contaminated raw milk produced by a Connecticut dairy are suing the dairy and Whole Foods Market Inc., the store where the tainted milk was sold. Raw milk is milk that has not gone through pasteurization, a heating process that is used to kill potential pathogens in the milk.
All three children were hospitalized. Two of the children contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a very serious blood disease that has been closely related to infection with E. coli O157:H7. Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can cause kidney failure as it did for these two young victims, who needed dialysis to recover.
The lawsuits, filed in recent weeks at Superior Court in Hartford, seek money for medical expenses, suffering and future care. There is a strong possibility that the children will require future treatment to deal with the long term consequences of kidney failure.
The two civil actions are apparently the first filed by the residents who were sickened by drinking the tainted milk from Town Farm Dairy. The dairy ceased selling raw and pasteurized milk on July 9, 2008, after the first reports surfaced of customers sickened by raw milk.
A subsequent investigation by the state Department of Public Health confirmed the E. coli O157:H7 and a state agricultural probe pinpointed the outbreak to one cow in the farm’s herd of 28 Jersey milking cows that produced an average of 93 gallons of milk each day.
Raw milk has been a center of controversy for Americans. One side claims that raw milk is healthy and a miracle food. While the other side claim that the food is too easily contaminated with any number of pathogens such as E. coli O157, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and any number of other foodborne pathogens that can cause severe foodborne illnesses.
Regardless of your stance on raw milk, it is important to remember that there are some people who should simply not consume the product. Those who are ill or have compromised immune systems, pregnant women and children may all lack the ability to effectively fight off the pathogens that have been closely linked to raw milk consumption.
