Nine people sick from E coli linked to raw cheese from California farm, more than half of them children | California
A raw milk dairy in California previously linked to a deadly outbreak of bird flu in cats has now been linked to a new disease. to parcel The outbreak involving cheddar cheese has affected nine people in three states.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) he said in a warning It is stated that more than half of the people who have fallen ill so far are children under the age of five. 3 people who caught a dangerous virus were hospitalized to parcel – O157:H7 – with the development of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that can lead to kidney failure.
The FDA said bacterial samples from people who became ill between September last year and February 2026 were genetically similar. Seven cases were reported in California, while both Florida and Texas reported one case each.
The farm identified in the outbreak is Raw Farm in Fresno, California, the largest producer of raw milk in the United States. Earlier this month, the FDA identified the farm as a “likely source” of the outbreak. to parcel epidemic.
In December 2024, Raw Farm was identified as the source of H5N1 avian influenza in three cats in the Los Angeles area that consumed raw milk. Two people died and fears were raised that cats, like pigs, have cellular receptors that allow them to act as “mixing vessels for the reassortment of avian and mammalian influenza viruses”.
The farm was also connected to the largest farm. salmonella outbreak Over a decade, at least 165 people have fallen ill in 2024.
In the cheddar cheese case, Aaron McAfee, president of Raw Farm, he told NBC News It said it would not voluntarily recall any of its products unless there was “direct evidence” linked to the illnesses.
No Raw Farm products tested positive to parcel and the FDA did not mandate a recall of Raw Farm products but recommended the manufacturer voluntarily remove the cheese products from store shelves.
“We sampled 81 samples that we purchased from retail stores in California where we continue to sell them, and they were all negative. If I had any concerns, I would voluntarily issue a recall,” McAfee said.
An FDA spokesperson told NBC that the agency’s investigation is ongoing and that the agency “has issued an outbreak advisory and initiated an on-site investigation to inform consumers, restaurants, and retailers of the current facts.”
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people to “consider not eating this cheese while the investigation is ongoing” and to wash all items and surfaces that may have touched the cheese, such as box grinders, knives, and countertops.
