Health officials warn against raw milk after newborn death linked to listeria in New Mexico
New Mexico health officials warned people to avoid unpasteurized dairy products after a newborn died from a listeria infection they said was likely linked to the child’s mother drinking raw milk while pregnant. In a public health notice this week, officials said the case involved listeria — a germ that can lead to serious outcomes for pregnant people and newborns.
Officials said investigators were not able to determine the exact cause of the baby’s death, citing privacy restrictions that limited details about the family. Even so, they said the “most likely source of infection was unpasteurized milk,” based on information gathered during the investigation, including the timing of the infection and reports that the mother drank raw milk during pregnancy.
The warning comes as officials say the demand for raw dairy has grown in recent years. The Associated Press reported that interest in and sales of raw milk have risen, fueled by social media and by growing support for the practice tied to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement.
Raw milk can contain disease-causing germs, health officials said, and listeria is one of several pathogens that can make people sick even when symptoms in the person who consumed the milk are mild. They noted that listeria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and preterm birth, and can also lead to fatal infections in newborns.
Health officials said pasteurization — heating milk to a temperature high enough to kill germs — can prevent listeria infections as well as infections caused by other bacteria and viruses. They also said raw milk can harbor additional germs that can cause infections, including avian influenza, brucella, tuberculosis, salmonella, campylobacter, cryptosporidium and E. coli.
Officials emphasized that some of those infections can be particularly dangerous for young children and for people older than 65 or those with weakened immune systems.