Pain and Politics: What Do You Do If Rabies Is Found in a Cow That Produced Your Raw Milk? Thank MarlerClark and FDA
Monday, May 18, 2009 at 11:57AM 
The very word “rabies” arouses strong feelings in most of us. I can remember as a child being told that if I got bitten by a squirrel or stray dog, I’d have to endure a series of painful shots. Otherwise, I’d risk an agonizing death that would have me foaming at the mouth.
Now raw milk drinkers in Vermont are having their fear memories jogged by the same sort of warnings. “Raw Milk Dairy In Vermont Has Cow With Rabies That Threatens 21 With Painful Shots” warns one of the blogs of food poisoning law firm MarlerClark, and its head, Bill Marler.
And a big part of the reason Vermont raw milk drinkers have to worry so much? According to MarlerClark, “Vermont's Legislature...just loosened up regulation of raw milk sales in the state, lifting the 50 quart per day cap on how much can be sold. Groups like the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, and Rural Vermont guided passage of theFresh Milk Restoration Act of 2009.” Damn those liberal foodies, pushing all this permissive legislation. It’ll be the end of us all, I swear.
But wait. If you read through the MarlerClark item to the last sentence you get this little tidbit: “The Centers for Disease Control has no record of rabies being transmitted by drinking raw milk, but health officials say they cannot rule out the possibility.”
Well, in the interests of objectivity, I guess you have to give the MarlerClark people a teeny bit of credit for at least slightly tempering their fear mongering. (Although, as MarlerClark suggests, You never know. You just never know. And you can never ever be too safe. While we’re at it, let’s wash our hands an extra five times today and say “Thank our lucky stars, and thank the benevolent folks at MarlerClark.”)
But this sort of fear mongering has been going on for a good while. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in its, shall we say, rabid, anti-raw milk presentation of 2007, describes a case in Oklahoma involving raw milk supposedly contaminated by a cow’s rabies, under the heading “Rabies Scare.” “10,000 consumers potentially exposed,” the slide tells us breathlessly.
Then in the next slide it tells us, hands practically wringing out raw milk, that 186 consumers took those terribly painful rabies shots, at a cost of $186,000. Terrible. Awful. Let’s take those raw milkies out back and shoot them. They’re endangering adults and little children alike, and bleeding our treasury. I mean, how can we tolerate such permissiveness?
But wait, once again. Further down in the slide we learn, “No cases of human rabies reported.”
No matter. We dodged a bullet. Whew. Aren’t we fortunate to have people like FDA Dairy Czar John Sheehan and personal injury lawyer Bill Marler looking after our welfare. We need more public-spirited people like them, to save us from painful rabies shots and...just the terrible fear of it all. It’s enough to give us, and especially our children, awful nightmares. Except for one detail. There isn’t a single documented case of anyone contracting rabies from raw milk, ever. If anyone can find one, let us know.
Now, I understand that rabies is a potentially serious public health concern and that officials in our gotcha-oriented society need to issue their warnings. And perhaps farmers could be encouraged to be more diligent in vaccinating their cows against rabies that can spread from skunks and racoons. But do us all a favor, and tell us upfront that the danger to people is much more acute from direct bites by bats and skunks and racoons, and that you’re doing this rabies-in-raw-milk warning as a pro-forma exercise in case individuals want to be super cautious and not be the first case ever in the annals of human history. And don’t blame your desire to warn us on political legislation you happen to oppose.
Reader Comments (52)
the above link is to a well written article by Ann Monroe.
no scares about rabies or anything... mostly about rights and liberty. looks like it was published on msm in march 09. i don't think it's been linked here before.
http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis.html
The people undergoing the rabies prophylactic, did they have all these recommended tests done first? Or are the undergoing the injections on someones recommendations? Did they have symptoms? Were they dibilitated?
http://www.texasdairy.com/archives/0601.htm
“The actual risk of rabies virus in the milk is small and so far, the sampling has not shown its presence,” he said. OSDH officials report that human cases due to non-bite exposures to rabies are very rare. Scratches, abrasions, open wounds, and mucous membranes contaminated with saliva or other potentially infectious material (such as brain tissue) from a rabid animal constitute non-bite exposures. Inhalation of aerosolized rabies virus is also a potential non-bite route of exposure, but other than laboratory workers, most people are unlikely to encounter aerosolized rabies virus. There are no published studies that have demonstrated the presence of rabies virus in cows’ milk. Although transmission of rabies virus from consuming unpasteurized milk from an infected animal is theoretically possible, no human has ever been reported to develop rabies via this route"
http://www.wptz.com/news/19475090/detail.html
http://www.familypracticenews.com/article/S0300-7073(06)74099-3/preview
http://www.thedairysite.com/news/27005/specialists-laments-the-dangers-of-raw-milk <~~ according to this site, rabies has been contracted from raw milk....
http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/zoonoses/rabies/docs/algorithm.pdf
So, it is an interesting question. If one of you drank raw milk from a rabid cow, would you opt for the treatment? This one isn't black and white like a bite from a rabid dog or wild animal. The risk of infection via raw milk appears to be totally theoretical - I suppose the virus would have to enter a cut in the mouth or through the mucous membrane (not its usual M.O.). In the past though, most people in the US that drank raw milk from a rabid cow have chosen - of their own free will - to undergo the treatment, which is a series of 6 shots spread over 1 month on precise days to be effective. No one will ever know if they would have developed rabies had they decided to pass on the shots.
There is an effective rabies vaccine for cattle. It is a business decision to use it in a herd situation. If I had cattle out on pasture interacting with wildlife, I would spend the money for that particular vaccine. Thing is, cattle are very curious and it is not uncommon for a rabid skunk or raccoon to wander aimlessly in a pasture before death. The ever curious cow will go inspect the situation and get a bite to the face. I don't know the statistics on cows getting struck by lightening, and that may be more common than being bitten by a rabid wild animal, but unlike lightening, there is a prevention option for rabies to protect the herd, as well as the consumers.
Since it is not mentioned the outcomes of those who opted out of "treatment" , I would guess they survived and are ok. Otherwise, I have no doubt tptb would be singing loudly about the horrors of raw milk and rabies.
Would you get the treatment if you drank raw milk from a rabid cow?
He explained to me in laymans terms... "that cows with infections rarely if ever pass that infection on to their young, instead they pass the "antibodies to the infection" to their young through their raw milk". To protect their babies!! This is what breasts and udders do....thats what makes them so wonderous and life giving.
I am sickened by how little biology and science gets passed on to the political powers in charge.
Instead... fear and ignorance is all the FDA can muster. This is exactly why no one has ever contracted rabies from a cow. The same goes for TB. If the TB tubercule is not in the udder all that gets passed to the raw milk consumer is the antibodies to TB.
This is the miracle of raw milk and it sure as hell shows the extreme ignorance of the FDA and other agencies that can not see past the slivver of extremely slight risk and then being blinded... clearly overreach into the realm of stupidy and idiocy.
When headlines still lead with "Swine Flu" scares with just six deaths and hudreds and even sometimes thousands are dying every month from the regular flu....the media, the FDA and CDC all have their colective heads up their backsides. It is so bad that any objective observer must dismiss their opinions as irrelavant, politically motivated and a disservice to our society. Kind of like yelling fire in a crowded concern hall when there is none. It is criminal!!
Why is there not a concern for weak immunity....not one word spoken yet about that huge elepant in the room...not one word. Thats why raw milk sales are on fire in CA and elsewhere
If an OPDC cow had rabies.....there are people in LA that would beg for that raw milk to obtain immunity from Rabies.
Do the FDA and CDC agency reps get issued ignorance tablets and ear plugs when they go to work for the government or what??? I am embarrassed for them. They are clueless about immunity and mammalian biology.
Maybe it is the Russian Roulette they play with our health and our lives for the profit of public companies. That is enough to kill off any humanity god ever gave them.
Mark
would you accept the settlement cash from the state if the police shot and killed your child because they thought s/he looked suspicous and/or dangerous and/or your child was mistaken for a wanted criminal, or whatever they wanted to tell you was the reason?
there is risk in life. we're not reducing it, only shifting it from one source to another. long ago thousands died from bad water or bad milk or (insert bad thing of your choice)
today thousands die in "accidental police shootings" 10's of thousands die in car accidents. in both these groups many of the victims are children.
just so you know i would not get the rabies vaccine if i drank milk from my rabid cow.
i'll accept life's risks as they're presented to me and do my best to deal with them as they arrive. however i will not stop living (i.e. taking risks) to live a good and meaningful life. i have a high chance of being dismembered by my own farm equipment. i need to be ever careful and alert and aware of my situation.
have you ever seen farm equipment like a haybine in operation? i find it hard to believe in this day and age of zero risk tollerance that i'm even allowed to buy one let alone use/operate it.
life is not fair/just or safe. never has been never will be. the more you focus on eliminating risk the less real living you can do. the goal needs to be managing risk by being aware via experience and common sense, both are sorely lacking in america today.
the issue isn't rabies, or bugs or dangerous farm equipment either, it's liberty and freedom to choose. you can choose rabies "treatments" i can choose to run dangerous equipment. see?
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/108/2/305
http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2008/5-5-tuberculosis.htm
cp
That was a semi-trick question about rabies treatment in a virtually impossible exposure situation. Curious to see what others would do if they are willing to answer. I very much respect your answer.
Mark - FYI - you are a bit confused about how antibodies work in milk for the calf, especially in the context of rabies or bovine tuberculosis. If I had time, would explain it (ever consider signing up for some immunology classes - there's a new college in Merced)?
Hugh, also get your risk analysis. Indeed, if made In Charge tomorrow over all public health dollars, I would take at least half of those dollars, find the best and the brightest, and figure out how to make some dent in needless, ego-based road kill. I'm not talking about opossums or skunks.
I did survive the last 49 years being shot free but the damned SAD and the APPROVED industrial boiled dead milk from sick CAFO cows nearly took my life EARLY.
"Find the "best" and the "brightest"
The "best" and the "brightest" are "managing" our monetary system and you and I and all Americans are being LOOTED like no people in the history of the world and in plain site.
The "best and the "brightest" are the "scientist" that give us GMOs, cloned animals, soon factory grown meats, GE viruses, WMDs and on and on and on.
Maybe I am just confused about who the "best" and "brightest" are but IMHO they are the 8th grade "educated" farmers that provide me with my raw dairy and my free ranging grass fed meats. They do not intend to harm me in any way via the food they produce. But I am not so sure that I can say that about the so called "best" and the "brightest" you look to.
And my real name is Don Wittlinger and I am not hiding behind the curtain watch The Wizard of OZ an entertaining and enlightenig old movie.
I have not been able to find any information of those who opted out of "treatment" . Why is that? What happened to those people? How can I make an informed choice if I am not given all the information? What are the odds?
Would I get the rabies series if I drank raw milk from a rabid cow? With what I know thus far-no I would not.
I knew one of those nurses in FL who got the smallpox vacc and died not too long ago. When the govt was pushing the fear mongering, I researched the best I could about the vacc. Too many things weren't right about it. (I did have the vacc as a child). Hospitals were at first talking about making it mandatory. I would have walked away from the job. As much as I detest walmart, I'd have applied as a greeter.
You have GOT to be kidding me. Seeking out raw milk from a rabid cow? I can't believe it. It sounds to me like there is not really enough info to say whether transmission can occur through the milk or not. Why risk it? It isn't like rabies is a huge problem among the human population.
Trust me, Mark. If you ever have a cow with rabies, I want to know about it asap so I can STOP drinking the milk!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090504-rabies-evolution.html
"Already, Flagstaff has declared a 90-day pet quarantine—all dogs on leashes and all cats indoors—which began in April."
...where is the cattle and horses and pigs going? on leashes? ha!
my question is can there be a relationship between this vaccination program and the new strain of rabies?
Yes if the TB infection is inside the udder then the raw milk could have the active TB bacteria in it....but if outside the udder then the antibodies would be most likely present but not the TB itself. Thats exactly what the FDA Vet told me.
I was a mission pilot for the "flying doctors of mercy" from 1990-1995 and spent untold hours inside of mexican clinics. I saw lots of TB and the conditions that people contracted TB. In deep mexico people milk their own cows and are in intimate contact with the mucus from the cows nasal and oral areas. So it is consistant with what the FDA vet told me....cows protect their young in their milk but direct contact with an infected cow is another story all together. The health departments hate raw milk so why not blame it for TB infections???? Sounds like a great plan and it works to scare the sheepeople..
Colleges do not teach medicine in a balanced way....I have been present when college professors simply repeated pharma dogma to their students inspite of studies to the contrary.
If a University has accepted grants from Monsanto, big dairy or Got Milk....guess what they will not teach about raw milk cheeses or organics or about anit GMO's.I know, I tried to take classes on the subject and they refused to teach it....
Lykke....sounds like you are a doctor or the like. Why don't you come out and tell us your name along with CP?
I am in the real world where Vets interact with cow owners and actually test cows for things like TB....I know exaclty what I am saying and why.
It is just like when the CDC states that raw milk is associated with listeria....yet there are no cases of listeria listed in the CDC database associated with raw milk...instead they make a overgeneral statement that listeria is associated with "raw milk and or raw cheese" and this is true. But they fail to explain that raw milk cheeses can be thermalized to just below pasteuruzation temp inviting in the dreaded listeria... Listeria hates lactobaccillus. Raw milk has plenty of that.
So the data is useless and politically used as a tool to bash raw milk specifically. This is why the FDA refuses to get into a dicussion with me or anyone about raw milk....we would kick their butts hard.
The devil and the truth is in the small details. Details that are conventient to overlook when on a mission of lies and raw milk distruction.
WAP reports that raw milk consumers in the early 1900s had a far better outcome from TB infection that those that did not consume raw milk.
Mark
"If I had time, would explain it"
you would? then i would like to challenge you to find the time.
one truth i feel i do know is that a cows udder is an amazing thing and it can and does produce or pass on antibodies to anything the cow is exposed to.
if the cow can't produce an antibody it is probable the cow gets sick and dies herself. if her immune system can fight off the infection she will pass on that antibody in (at least) her first milk if not all her milk from then on.
i'd ask mark to explain about first milk (collostrum) and the rest of her milking cycle milk
http://blip.tv/file/2061380
years ago the FDA raided and shut down a dairy that was producing Immune Milk. They claimed that the dairy was producing a "new drug" with out FDA approval.
Immune milk is raw milk taken from a cow that has been exposed to an infection from a pathogen or virus so that the cows immune system would react and produce anti-bodies to that infectous process and gift the immunity to the host that consumes the immune milk and its associated anti-bodies.
Lykke....please do your our study. The germans have been effectively doing this for years. It works very well. If the cow infected the raw milk consumer with her infection this process would not work. Again....the FDA vet was dead on...."the mother always protects her young".Some thing you and the FDA know nothing about.
This entire discussion is sickly distracting from the real issue....there are thousands of people dying every month secondary to immune depression, the regular flu and antibiodic resistant infections....CP and Lykke....please discuss this and try defending that issue. No one has died of rabid raw milk yet that we know of.
The target for discussion is:
"US Citizen Immune Depression" secondary to medical ignorance and FDA pandering to drug companies that exploit our weak immune systems. This is the bioterrorist killer in the room that you refuse to acknowledge. Instead you distact us all with statistically irrelevant nonsense.
Mark
At the end of this month I start my 5th year consuming raw dairy and other pure REAL foods.
The change to real foods was the result of severe GI problems. Raw onions was one item I had not eaten in many years but today I harvested my first 3 spring onions YUM they were good and no digestive problem at all.
I had also suffered severe allergy problems all my life and almost hated spring and fall but the diet change did help about 25% but was still miserable. DW and I decide to redo all our flower beds so I would not need to spend much time gardening and suffer the resulting reactions. We began in late March nearly finished now plus planted a small veggie garden.
One day last week I made 9 quarts of Kombucha Tea then picked up 167 landscaping brick and placed them around the flower beds plus planted 5 pots of daylilies. Not to bad for a 72 3/4 year old. MOO POWER maybe? I think so.
However more importantly I have had not one allergy reaction worthy of note just a slight runny nose at times. I have no memory of ever enjoying a spring like this spring.
Why? Raw dairy, grass fed beef, kombuchca tea, real salt, free range chicken eggs, whole grains. fermented veggies, and no SAD and no drugs.
Yes its my story but its not just about me its the story of the marvelous design our human bodies that even after years of abuse they can recover even at an advanced age if the abuse stops and the required real pure nutrients are applied.