Mary McGonigle-Martin always kept up with the latest wellness trends, so when she learned of the purported benefits of raw milk, she began stocking her family refrigerator with it.
The weeks went by without a hitch, but then her seven-year-old son Chris became seriously ill with diarrhea and vomiting, followed by terrifying seizures.
Doctors discovered he had suffered life-threatening brain swelling and a collapsed lung, while his kidney, heart and pancreas had begun to fail.
Tests revealed that the child was infected with the E.coli bacteria. It was supposed to come from raw milk, which doesn’t undergo the standard pasteurization process to kill germs.
Chris was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which causes small blood clots to form throughout the body, wreaking havoc on organs and bringing him closer to death.
McGonigle-Martin told the CDC at the time of the ordeal in 2006: “I actually thought I was going to die at that moment.”
After spending a week in a coma and three years in and out of the hospital, Chris recovered. But almost 20 years later, raw milk is more popular than ever due to the growing demand for organic products.
At least 4.4 percent of Americans (nearly 11 million people) try raw milk each year and one of its most famous advocates, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
UNBEARABLE GUILT: Mary McGonigle-Martin got her son to start drinking milk at age seven; the decision weighs heavily on him
Pasteurization was an important advance in public health when the process was discovered by French microbiologist Louis Pasteur.
Dramatically reduced the risk of foodborne illness by effectively killing harmful bacteria in milk and other food products.
But in recent decades, advocates have claimed that pasteurization removes nutrients that help with allergies, asthma and digestive problems.
However, according to the fdaHowever, this process, which involves heating the milk to kill bacteria, has no significant effect on nutritional value or eliminates the “probiotic microorganisms” that support gut health.
Many of the same health claims were made when McGonigle-Martin was convinced to try raw milk.
“I felt lulled into a false sense of security,” she said.
At the time, the only warnings he could find were that it might cause mild stomach pain symptoms as the body adjusted to the change.
But he added: “The risk of drinking raw milk is not a stomach ache for a few days or diarrhea and vomiting that goes away.” The risk is that the pathogen could kill you.’
In Chris’ case, when he arrived at the hospital and his condition deteriorated, doctors put him on dialysis so a machine could filter his blood and compensate for his damaged kidneys.
Chris was on dialysis for 18 days and in a medically induced coma with a ventilator for nine days.
Although these measures saved his life, his mother said it took three years for her son’s health to fully recover.
Now, she has become a strong advocate for foodborne illness and serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit Stop Foodborne Illness.
She is speaking out once again as raw milk begins to make headlines again.
After spending a week in a coma and three years in and out of the hospital, Chris recovered. But almost 20 years later, raw milk is more popular than ever due to the growing demand for organic products.
This week, bird flu was detected in raw milk from a raw food dairy in California, raising concerns.
me toon/a publish in X in OctoberRFK JR reaffirmed his support for raw milk, which he has suggested may be a way to make America healthy again, his campaign against vaccines and processed foods, and his push for alternative medicine.
A variety of harmful bacteria can be introduced into dairy products, either from the milk itself or from poor hygiene on the farm. These include bacteria such as Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Listeria, Brucella, Salmonella and E.coli, which caused Chris’ illness.
Once in the digestive system, certain strains of E. coli can infiltrate the bloodstream of the intestines, damaging small blood vessels and causing a huge number of tiny blood clots that support the organs, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
This is called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Once old blood cells and clots clog the kidneys, they are no longer able to filter waste from the body, meaning toxic buildup floods the bloodstream. This can cause damage to other organs.
To treat HUS, doctors give patients intravenous fluids, blood transfusions, and nutrients to try to strengthen the body so it can fight the infection.
Raw milk advocates claim the product is healthier than regular milk because pasteurization removes nutrients.
One of raw milk’s most famous advocates, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be secretary of Health and Human Services.
More recently, California-based Raw Farm LLC was found last week to have dairy products containing bird flu.
The farm is one of the state’s largest dairy retailers and the company issued a voluntary recall of all of its products suspected of containing the virus.
The outbreak was caused by the H5N1 virus.
Authorities have been on alert for the bird flu strain after the virus suddenly spread to cows in 2022, which they said raised the risk it could be transmitted to people.
To date, more than 100 million poultry have been infected, as well as 10,000 wild birds and 500 dairy herds in 15 states.
Since Chris became ill in 2006, McGonigle-Martin has become a spokesperson against raw milk and other products that have the potential to cause foodborne illnesses. In the photo, she was talking to the CDC about Chris’ experience.
Fifty-three people in the United States have been infected, mostly farm workers who have close contact with cows or poultry.
Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University, said: “This is not surprising, given how quickly H5N1 appears to be spreading among California farms and given the fact that these farm outbreaks are are being discovered largely due to mass testing of raw milk from farms.’
Many of these dairy-borne diseases were eradicated when pasteurization became common after its introduction in 1864, according to the American Dairy Association.
In states such as Louisiana, Michigan and New Jersey, the sale of raw milk is prohibited. In others, such as California, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, the product is allowed in general retail establishments.