POISONING FROM RAW MILK

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27273, 13 February 1954, Page 8

POISONING FROM RAW MILK

REPORT ON EPIDEMIC IN SOMERSET

SALMONELLA BACTERIA INFECTION An extensive outbreak of food poisoning among school children who had drunk raw milk in Somerset, England, is reported in “Town Milk,” the official organ of the New Zealand Milk Board* The report is based on an article in a recent issue of the * ‘Lancet” by Dr. McCall, medical officer of health at Chard, Somerset. The milk was tuberculin tested raw milk that was chilled and bottled before distribution. Some 12 schools containing 1436 children were affected. Of these children 1094 had taken the milk and 591 were ill with food poisoning. The number of school days lost was 1256.

The milk came from one farm having a satisfactory milking shed and water supply; the animals were healthy, except that one cow had been isolated because of mastitis. This cow’s milk was included in the milk supply on the morning on which she was isolated. When seen by a veterinary surgeon the cow was diagnosed as suffering from salmonella infection of the bowel. Later a salmonella organism, salmonella budlin, was isolated from the cow’s milk and faeces and also from the faeces of seven of the patients.

The patients affected suffered from napsea, and in many cases from vomiting and abdominal pain. Severe headache and giddiness were common, and temperatures were generally between 100 and 102 degrees. Hlnesses mostly lasted for three or four days. As soon as infection of the milk had been established arrangements were made for pasteurising it, and the proportion of children taking the milk was not reduced after pasteurisation was adopted.

The report says that a few years ago an outbreak of infection caused by salmonella bacteria occurred in a New Zealand town supply herd. The town concerned enjoyed an all-pasteurisa- | tion milk supply and none of the milk, while still infected, found its way to consumers.

The extent of the infection in the herd was such that if this milk had been sold raw it could have caused an epidemic of serious proportions. Salmonella food poisoning is only one of the diseases that may affect the rawmilk drinker.