Consumption of camel milk from North Eastern province of Kenya

Camel milk is commonly consumed raw by pastoralists in arid areas who may be unaware of the risks posed by such milk. It was therefore very important to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae, which are some of the most common pathogens in such milk. The results indicated the potential health risk of consuming raw camel milk and increasing incidences of resistance of mastitis organisms to the common antibiotics. There is need to educate camel milk producers on hygienic milk production as well as inform the raw camel milk consumers on dangers involved. Marketing of camel milk and products can be enhanced using the attributes appropriate for each product in the respective district.