Minnesota state officials say they’ve made good progress in finding the source of a potentially deadly strain of E. coli O157:H7 that has sickened 5 people, four of whom drank raw milk from a dairy near Gibbon, Minn.

Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been pasteurized to kill harmful pathogens.

According to a June 3 press release from the state’s Agriculture and Health departments, laboratory test results from samples taken from the Hartmann dairy farm last week have provided additional evidence that point to the dairy as the source of the same E. coli strain that sickened a handful of Minnesotans after they consumed unpasteurized or other dairy products from the farm.

This is the first time this particular strain of E. coli has been found in Minnesota, said state officials.

This update from the departments follows on the heels of last week’s news about four cases of E. coli–three of which were linked to the Hartmann dairy farm. The latest case makes five cases in all so far, although health officials say there could be more to come since it can take up to 2 weeks for E. coli to surface.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/06/more-evidence-links-e-coli-to-mn-dairy-farm/