Health officials warn against raw milk after newborn’s death

A newborn baby died from a listeria infection likely linked to the child’s mother drinking raw milk during pregnancy, health officials said.

New Mexico officials this week warned people to avoid consuming unpasteurized dairy products following the death. Interest in and sales of raw milk have been rising in recent years, fueled by social media and growing support from the Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement.

State officials provided few details about the newborn, citing privacy restrictions. While investigators said they could not determine the exact cause of the baby’s death, “the most likely source of infection was unpasteurized milk.” That conclusion was based on information gathered during the investigation, including the timing of the infection and reports that the mother drank raw milk during pregnancy, an official said.

Raw milk can contain several disease-causing germs, including listeria. That is a type of bacteria that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or fatal infections in newborns, even if the mother is only mildly ill.

Pasteurization — the process of heating milk to a high enough temperature to kill germs — can prevent infections from listeria as well as other types of bacteria as well as viruses. Raw milk can contain germs that cause infections from avian influenza, brucella, tuberculosis, salmonella, campylobacter, cryptosporidium and E. coli. Many of those infections are particularly dangerous to young children, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems.

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