Most milk is pasteurized, which involves heat-treating the milk to remove any potentially dangerous diseases. An Indian woman who drank raw milk has died of rabies in an incredibly rare case.
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Milk is made completely safe for drinking by heating it to 72°C or 162°F for 15 seconds. This simple and quick process kills a lot of bad bacteria and renders the food safe for consumption. This isn't always necessary, but it is a precaution that most people prefer. It simply reduces the chance of catching something nasty.
Raw milk can be drunk and enjoyed safely, provided that the cow is known to be free from disease. However, the FDA encourages people to drink pasteurized milk for a reason as this case tragically demonstrates. Unbeknownst to the Indian woman, she drank milk from a cow suffering from rabies. The cow had been bitten by a rabid dog and caught the disease, then passed it on through its milk.
Within only a few days, she became fatally ill. Symptoms of rabies passed on from the infected milk could include fever, agitation, hallucinations, twitching, and a fear of drinking water. She quickly took herself to a hospital but received no treatment.
The hospitals were not equipped to deal with her sickness and turned her away due to the nature of it. She was left to die at home.
Milk Contaminated With Rabies: A New Development In Disease
Rabies is not known to be passed on through the consumption of dairy or meat, so the case of the Indian woman dying from raw milk is unusual but not undocumented.
The CDC reported a case in Massachusetts in the 1990s. In both cases, supply realized that a large number of people had drank from a cow infected with rabies. In both cases, they tracked down all the people to administer rabies vaccines as preemptive treatment, potentially saving their lives.
Raw milk can often be consumed safely, and some people prefer it. However, like any food from unregulated sources, it should be treated with care. People need to ensure they know the health of the animals they are getting their produce from.
Rabies is a deadly and horrific disease. Usually, it is transmitted through the saliva of infected animals. Getting bitten by one of these animals can even transmit rabies to humans. However, most hospitals will stock rabies treatments and vaccines.
This unlucky woman happened to be in a part of the world unequipped for the rabies she picked up from raw milk.
