Post by Joann on Jan 14, 2005 20:36:57 GMT -5
Those of you who followed the links provided by Ed to an article on raw milk that appeared in the Arizona Daily Star, Tuscon 1/13/05, may be interested in this analysis I did of the list of bacterial hazards provided in that story.
The information following the name of each of these bacteria is taken from The Merck Veterinary Manual Sixth Edition. My own comments and explanations are in parentheses.
œ Listeria
Listeria monocytogenes, is found everywhere in the world in soil and on surfaces and can infect a great many animals. The routes to infection in man are not well defined. It is discouraged by a high pH (acid conditions). It may be on or in any food including animal feeds. If in milk, it often survives pasteurization (consequently is not specific to raw milk).
œ Campylobacter
There are several species of Campylobactor. Campyolobactor jejuni (the type most often implicated in disease outbreaks) may be present in a vast number of animals. It may be present in all secretions and in feces. If found in milk it is usually a result of fecal contamination. It is most commonly found in poultry.
œ Tuberculosis
Bovine tuberculosis is essentially eradicated in the US. Cows are occasionally infected by people (not the other way around).
œ Salmonella
Salmonella is sometimes found in all animals including mammals, birds and shellfish. It can be spread by feed, by fecal contamination or by infected animals. (When infection is food borne it is usually due to fecal contamination. Poultry is by far the most common source due to modern slaughtering methods.)
œ Escherichia
More than 150 types of Escherichia bacteria have been identified. Some are coliform. Most are harmless. (A dangerous form of E. coli is characteristic of the hindgut of confined cattle, especially feedlot cattle on a diet that includes no hay. The presence of an unidentified E. coli in milk tells you virtually nothing.)
œ Yersinia
Yersinia bacteria (plague) are spread by fleas and infection is virtually unknown in cattle. (Cattle are not gplaguedh by fleas and to even mention it in a list such as this can only be intended as a scare tactic.)
œ Brucella
Brucella abortis (Brucellosis, Undulant fever) is nearly eradicated in US cattle. Most states are Brucellosis free. Once proven free of disease, a cow can only be infected by other cattle. (Listing Brucellosis infection as a threat to raw milk drinkers is a real cheap shot. There is no reason to suspect that your cow or the cows where any US milk customer purchases raw milk is infected. If doubts linger, get her tested.)
Merck notes that outbreaks now occur with greater frequency than formerly because of concentrated rearing of animals. Where we rely for our raw milk on a single cow or small responsibly run dairy our chances of getting contaminated milk are small indeed. Add to this the demonstrable fact that raw milk works to destroy harmful bacteria, something that pasteurized milk is incapable of doing, and you have a product that is as safe, indeed a great deal safer, than most foods.
The Wisconson outbreak referred to in one of the articles was analyzed in Ron Schmidfs book, The Untold Story OF Milk. The health department in that case appears to have acted deliberately to entrap the raw milk dairy involved.
For perspective, consider these facts. According to a study by sociologist David Phillips, which was published in the January 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, between 1979 and 2000 there were 131,952 deaths related to prescription drugs. This is after discounting suicides and homicides. Of these deaths, almost 97% were the result of medication errors, meaning the wrong drug was given or taken, or there was an accidental overdose.
During this period, deaths unequivocally caused by consumption of raw milk: none. Who are we kidding here? Suppression of raw milk is not driven by a desire to conserve health or save lives.