THE PASTEURIZATION OF MILK 



for.* Many of the persons thus affected died. 

 In 1912 a similar epidemic occurred in Baltimore, 

 where many persons were made sick and many 

 deaths occurred. This was traced to milk infec- 

 tion, f Had these milks been properly pasteur- 

 ized, these epidemics of disease would probably 

 have been avoided. 



Aside from the foregoing considerations, the 

 fact that a very considerable percentage of cows 

 producing milk are tuberculous gives an added 

 reason why it is desirable to heat the milk be- 

 fore use. There has been much misapprehension 

 in the public mind regarding the actual danger 

 which threatens human beings from this source. 

 There seems to be no doubt that these dangers, 

 while real, have been somewhat exaggerated. In 

 the first place, the fact that a cow may be seri- 

 ously affected with tuberculosis does not make it 

 certain that her milk is dangerous to use. If 

 proper care is exercised while the milk is being 

 drawn from the cow, none of the germs will get 



*Winslow, C. E. A., Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume X 



No. 1, January, 1912. 



fPublic Health Reports, November 22, 1912. 



18 



