On September 13, 2017, CDC sent a health advisory through its Health Alert Network (CDCHAN-00407). The Texas Department of State Health Services, with help from CDC, was looking into illness and exposure linked to raw (unpasteurized) milk from K-Bar Dairy in Paradise, Texas.
In July 2017 Texas reported a case of brucellosis in a person who drank raw cow’s milk from the dairy. The person went to the hospital. CDC’s lab found the cause was Brucella abortus vaccine strain RB51, a strain used in cattle vaccine. Milk samples from the dairy also tested positive for RB51.
Key points of the advisory
- People who drank milk or ate milk products from the dairy from June 1 to August 7, 2017, had a higher risk of brucellosis. They were told to talk with a health care provider about medicine to prevent illness after exposure.
- RB51 resists rifampin and penicillin, two drugs often used against Brucella. The first-choice preventive treatment was doxycycline plus trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole for 21 days.
- No blood antibody test detects RB51. Blood culture was the advised test for exposed people with symptoms. Doctors were asked to tell the lab that a culture could grow Brucella.
- Symptoms can start from 5 days to 6 months after exposure. They include fever, sweats, tiredness, loss of appetite, headache, and muscle and joint pain.
CDC later reported more RB51 cases from raw milk. A January 2019 advisory described the third known U.S. case since August 2017, linked to raw milk from a farm in Pennsylvania.
This guidance is from September 2017. It is kept here as a record and is not current advice. Check current guidance from the CDC or your doctor.
Sources
- CDC Health Alert Network: Rifampin/Penicillin-Resistant Strain of RB51 Brucella Contracted from Consumption of Raw Milk (CDCHAN-00407, September 13, 2017)
- CDC MMWR: Brucella abortus Vaccine Strain RB51 Infection and Exposures Associated with Raw Milk Consumption, Wise County, Texas, 2017 (March 2018)
- CDC Health Alert Network: Third Case of Rifampin/Penicillin-Resistant Strain of RB51 Brucella from Consuming Raw Milk (CDCHAN-00417, January 23, 2019)