# Raw Milk & Lyme Disease



## Metasequoia (Jun 7, 2005)

Someone please convince me (& show me some evidence) that you can't get Lyme disease from drinking raw milk. We've always loved our raw milk, but I can't seem to find an answer for this question.


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## Quirky (Jun 18, 2002)

I'm confused....why do you think you CAN get Lyme disease from raw milk?

I think there are lots of diseases you can get from raw milk....TB, listeriosis, salmonella, brucellosis, E. coli, etc., but I have never seen nor am I seeing now through googling anything linking Lyme disease to raw milk. What research do you have?

ETA: this source says that Lyme disease requires a tick bite for transmission in both humans and cows.

OTOH, this source says that Lyme spirochetes have been found in breastmilk, so presumably they could be found in cow's milk as well. That raises two questions, first, can infection occur by drinking raw milk with spirochetes, or does it have to be injected directly into the bloodstream, and second, would pasteurization kill the spirochetes.









If I were to drink raw milk, I would want to know that the farmer regularly tests the cows for diseases including Lyme disease. I don't think I'd just buy it from an unknown source, KWIM?


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## Metasequoia (Jun 7, 2005)

The breastmilk link is what made me question raw cow's milk, many Lyme specialists insist that it *has* been passed to infants through infected mothers.

This is from the link you posted: "The standard blood tests often used to detect Lyme antibodies are missing approximately half of the cases of Lyme Disease. Lyme, according to the Center for Disease Control, is a "clinical diagnosis" and negative tests should NOT rule out the disease. A lab specializing in Lyme Disease and co-infections should be used for the best chances of aiding the clinical diagnosis."

So, even if a farmer tested his cows, it would be useless.

I guess it's possible? I plan on asking our horse's vet about it, I'm curious. Even though the leading Lyme docs insist it can be passed from mother to nursing infant, I can't help but wonder if vaccine's play a part in that transmission. It doesn't seem right that a mother's milk could make her baby ill.


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