7th Child Sick With E.Coli From Raw Milk

7th Child Sick With E.Coli From Raw Milk

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Story Published: Dec 14, 2005 at 4:03 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 2:09 AM PDT

By Bryan Johnson

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CLARK COUNTY - A seventh child is reported being treated for e.Coli in Southwest Washington.

Health department officials believe the outbreak is connected to Dee Creek Farms near Woodland in Clark County.

Two of the affected children were said to be in critical condition.

Washington State officials say the farm is only licensed as an egg farm. They issued a warning letter to the farm in August with an order to stop selling raw milk.

State officials tell KOMO 4 News the farm says it sells shares in dairy cows and thus it is not selling milk; it provides milk from cows to the owners.

The state says the law still requires the farm to have a milk production license and they do not have the appropriate license.

Dr. Justin Denny, the Clark County Health officer issued this warning: "Anyone who has consumed any unpasteurized milk from the Dee Creek Dairy and had diarrhea since Nov. 20, please seek medical attention and contact your local health department."

The Washington Agriculture Department inspects dairy farms throughout the state. Most of the milk is pasteurized on site or sent to processors for pasteurization.

Organic food stores tell KOMO 4 News there's no place in King County where you can buy raw milk. One reason may be the huge warning label it has to carry that spells out dangers such as e.Coli, strep, and bovine tuberculosis.

But some nutritionists insist pasteurizing milk destroys important enzymes. In fact, the state tells KOMO 4 News the number of raw milk dairies, either goat or dairy cow, has jumped from one last year to six at the present time.

All are state licensed and inspected with the milk sampled and tested every month.

Doctors warn the real danger may lie in unregulated, unlicensed farms such as the one thought to be connected to the e.Coli outbreak.

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