Frankston toddler's death 'most likely linked' to unpasteurised bath milk, coroner finds

[Guest Nicole]

The death of a Frankston toddler who contracted a rare infection that left him with blood-stained diarrhoea and coffee-coloured vomit was most likely linked to his consumption of unpasteurised bath milk, a coroner has ruled.

Coroner Audrey Jamieson has issued a stern warning to parents still considering giving their children unpasteurised milk, despite new restrictions put in place by Dairy Food Safety Victoria.

"If members of our community choose to drink farm-gate unpasteurised milk, that is their choice," Ms Jamieson said.

"However, they should do so in the knowledge that it may contain harmful bacteria."

The three-year-old boy, who cannot be named, died on October 13, 2014, from a rare and severe complication of E. coli infection, called haemolytic uraemic syndrome, after drinking unpasteurised Mountain View Organic Dairy milk.

Four other children fell seriously ill in the same month. Three of the affected children contracted haemolytic uraemic syndrome, while two others developed a parasitic bowel infection called cryptosporidium.

All five children had consumed Mountain View milk being sold in health food shops as "bath milk".

"I find on the balance of probabilities that [the] child's death was most likely linked to the consumption of unpasteurised milk," Coroner Audrey Jamieson said.

Yet, she cleared Mountain View Organic Dairy of any wrongdoing, saying the container was properly labelled and included a warning. She said regulation of unpasteurised milk sales had been adequately managed in the wake of the boy's death.

The police investigation revealed the boy's parents had changed his diet in June 2014, after a naturopath assessed the toddler as intolerant to dairy, gluten and eggs.

The boy's father said they had gone to "a lot of trouble to get milk". The family had been buying Mountain View Organic Dairy bath milk for two or three months before the toddler's death.

The father told police he and his wife understood the milk was labelled as "not to be drunk", but said he "would be surprised if anyone used it for cosmetic purposes", because the bath milk was packaged in a two-litre plastic container which looked like "every other milk container". 

The couple used the milk in tea and occasionally gave the boy a small amount with his formula. They also used the bath milk to make their own yoghurt.

Since the boy's death authorities have imposed licence conditions on Victorian diary producers to ensure that "cosmetic dairy products" are not sold in regular two-litre milk containers and presented in such a way that they cannot reasonably be mistaken as being for human consumption.

The parents took their son to the Medicentre Clinic at Frankston Hospital on September 30, 2014, after he had been unwell for 24 hours with abdominal pain, diarrhoea and fever. They were sent home with advice to keep up his fluid intake.

They returned to the hospital on October 2 and October 4 and were sent home both times with a diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis. 

The father expressed concerns about his son's medical treatment to police, saying he and his wife refused to be sent home when they visited the hospital with their son again on October 5 after he developed blood in his stools.

"We knew he was sick and we insisted that he was admitted," the father said.

"I felt like they were still treating [it] like a severe case of gastro. All they wanted to do was get fluids into him and get him to start eating.

"If he had had the surgery or been given the right antibiotics then I feel like this could've been fixed and we would still have our son."

The boy was transferred to Monash Medical Centre on October 6.

His treatment at the Monash Medical Centre was somewhat delayed when his parents, who are practicing Jehovah's Witnesses, initially objected to the toddler receiving a blood transfusion.

The coroner said the medical management of the boy was reasonable and appropriate, noting that nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal cramping were common symptoms of acute gastroenteritis.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/frankston-toddlers-death-most-likely-linked-to-unpasteurised-bath-milk-coroner-finds-20161111-gsn5yj.html