The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is reporting multiple Campylobacter infection cases associated with consumption of unpasteurized, or raw, milk from the Family Cow dairy store in Chambersburg, PA. Health department officials are advising consumers to discard any product purchased from the farm since Jan. 1, 2012.

There have been six confirmed cases:  three in Maryland and three in Pennsylvania, all of whom consumed raw milk from the farm, officials said. Campylobacter is a bacterial cause of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and can progress to more serious illness, such as a bloodstream infection and other complications. Illness generally occurs two to five days after exposure.  In 2011, Maryland reported nearly 600 Campylobacter infections.

The implicated milk is labeled “raw milk” (meaning, not pasteurized) and is sold under “The Family Cow” label in plastic gallon, half gallon, quart and pint containers.  The Family Cow dairy sells directly to consumers at its on-farm retail store and at multiple drop-off locations and retail stores in the following Pennsylvania counties:  Bucks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Lebanon, Montgomery, Philadelphia and York counties.

Information about the regulation of milk and dairy products in Maryland can be found on the health department's web site.  

Further information on raw milk safety can be found on the CDC web site.