A wave of fear spread through a village in Gorakhpur after a cow that had recently died from rabies was found to have supplied raw milk used in preparing panchamrit for a religious ceremony. Nearly 200 villagers consumed the mixture, prompting health officials to urgently advise all of them to get anti-rabies vaccinations. The cow had been bitten by a rabid stray dog three months earlier, and following its death, anxiety rose sharply among locals. So far, more than 170 people have received the first dose of post-exposure prophylaxis as a precautionary measure.
The situation gained greater attention because it came soon after reports of a woman in Greater Noida who allegedly died from rabies after consuming milk from an infected cow. However, those reports did not clarify whether the milk was pasteurised or raw, and there was no official medical confirmation that her infection came from milk consumption.
Concerns about whether milk from infected cattle can transmit rabies have been raised before. According to a 1999 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incidents in Massachusetts in 1996 and 1998 involved cows with rabies producing milk that was consumed by dozens of people. Although the milk was not tested, the CDC noted that transmission of the rabies virus through unpasteurised milk is theoretically possible. At the same time, it emphasised that pasteurisation completely eliminates this risk, since the process destroys viruses that might be present.
Medical experts echo this view. Internal medicine specialist Dr Anuj Tiwari stated that pasteurised milk poses no risk, and even raw milk is unlikely to transmit the virus because stomach acid can destroy the rabies pathogen. Importantly, in the Massachusetts cases, no human infections were ever documented, though post-exposure vaccines were administered out of extreme caution due to the disease’s high fatality rate.
Health guidelines in India also reassure people. The National Centre for Disease Control states that no scientific evidence exists to show rabies can be transmitted through milk or milk products, and it specifically says that post-exposure prophylaxis is not required after consuming dairy from infected animals. The government also notes that no human cases have been linked to eating uncooked meat from rabid animals. Similarly, the World Health Organisation reported in 2018 that the infectious rabies virus has never been isolated from the milk of rabid cows and that no human cases have ever been attributed to drinking raw milk from infected animals.
Despite this extremely low risk, doctors and authorities emphasise caution because rabies is almost always fatal. In cases of uncertainty, people are advised to consult a doctor immediately and begin vaccination if recommended. The situation in Gorakhpur reflects this approach — even though the probability of transmission through milk remains minimal, widespread preventive vaccination has been encouraged to eliminate any possibility of risk.
