The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials are investigating potential exposures to Brucella strain RB51 (RB51) in 19 states, connected to consuming raw (unpasteurized) milk from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. One case of RB51 infection (brucellosis) has been confirmed in New York, and an unknown number of people may have been exposed to RB51 from drinking the milk from this farm. This type of Brucella is resistant to first-line drugs and can be difficult to diagnose because of limited testing options and the fact that early brucellosis symptoms are similar to those of more common illnesses like flu.
The New York case is the third known instance of an infection with RB51 associated with consuming raw milk or raw milk products produced in the United States. The other two human cases occurred in October 2017 in New Jersey and in August 2017 in Texas. Those cases reported drinking raw milk from an online retailer and a Texas farm, respectively. In addition to these three confirmed cases, hundreds of others were potentially exposed to RB51 during these three incidents.
A New York resident, who drank raw milk purchased from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm in Quarryville, Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with brucellosis in November 2018.
Milk samples from Miller’s Biodiversity tested positive for RB51. A cow that tested positive for RB51 has been removed from the milking herd.
As of January 22, 2019, investigators have determined that people in 19 states have bought or consumed raw milk from the implicated farm. The states are Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.