CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Milk, whether it comes from seemingly healthy cows, goats or any other animal, can cause serious health problems, including death, if it has not been pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria.
This reminder from the Tennessee Department of Health comes following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement regarding hospitalizations and a death from Listeria infections linked to people drinking raw milk from a Pennsylvania dairy.
Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, suggests those who perceive raw milk as having significant health benefits compared to pasteurized milk should understand the risks.
“Consuming raw milk believing it’s healthier than pasteurized milk is a perilous risk that shakes off the possibility of a range of serious and occasionally fatal illnesses for the individuals and anyone they share it with,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “Our best choice for healthy, nutritious milk is the pasteurized kind. Even if one believes there are health benefits, an upside, is it worth taking a chance on the downside risk of a serious illness, especially in a child?”
In the last three years, Tennessee has experienced outbreaks associated with drinking raw milk that was not pasteurized. Notably, in 2013, nine residents under the age of nine years were sickened with E.coli O157 bacteria. Five required hospitalization for life-threatening kidney failure. Fortunately, none of the children died.
According the CDC, the most common causes of milk contamination include getting animal feces directly in the milk. Pasteurization effectively kills these bad bacteria. Without this important step, raw milk from even the cleanest, most well-run dairy operations can contain harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites capable of causing serious illness. These germs do not affect the color, smell or taste of milk, but can cause days of diarrhea, stomach cramping and vomiting. In some cases, drinking contaminated milk can lead to kidney failure and death.
While even the healthiest people can become ill from drinking contaminated raw milk, those at greatest risk for harm are the elderly, young children and people who have weak immune systems including those undergoing treatment for cancer, who have had an organ transplant or who have HIV/AIDS. Young children, who may be fed raw milk by well-intentioned family members, actually have the highest risk for harm and little ability to make a decision about the risk.