Deadly Wild or White Snakeroot: The Toxin Behind Milk Fever

"In the early 1800s, milk sickness resulted in the death of thousands of people.

The most famous person to die from it was Abraham Lincoln's mother in 1818."

July 8, 1965 

On this day, the Vincennes, Indiana newspaper reported on a sickness caused by snakeroot:

It was about 140 years ago, that the town of Hindustan, Indiana, was abandoned by its residents because of a plague of 'milk fever'.

This disease occurs after milk cows have eaten Wild Snakeroot.

A few years ago, a botanist [shared] that the Hindustan neighborhood still is the best place in the Midwest to collect Wild Snakeroot for laboratory work.

 

Wild or White snakeroot is a problem for livestock if they consume it. All parts of the plant are toxic. White Snakeroot toxin can be transferred through cow's milk, a grave concern known as milk sickness for humans.

In the early 1800s, milk sickness resulted in the death of thousands of people; the most famous person to die from it was Abraham Lincoln's mother in 1818.


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