On average, one in six people who drink raw milk becomes ill with bacterial or parasite infections, according to researchers at the Minnesota Department of Health.
The researchers found 530 laboratory-confirmed cases of infections — including bacterial infections from Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter, as well as parasitic infections called cryptosporidiosis — among Minnesota patients who reported drinking raw milk between 2001 and 2010. Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized (heated to kill germs and then cooled quickly).
The researchers noted that their study is limited in several ways by the data available to them. They said the sporadic cases of infection that occurred in people who had recently consumed raw milk could not be definitely linked with the milk. (For example, some may have become sick through their contact with cattle.)...