Yes, cows can be tested for TB. (I think it's required for dairy cows in some states but not in others.)
There is some disagreement in the literature as to whether the form of TB that cows can carry is the same as the one that infects people. I don't know enough about it to have an opinion. Some people speculate that much of the problem in the past with TB being spread through cow's milk was because people with TB were doing the milking, and coughing into the bucket while milking. That's unlikely to be a factor these days, both because TB is so much less common in people and because most milking is being done by machine, no open bucket to be coughed into.
TB itself is a somewhat mysterious disease, they still don't really know why some people are susceptible and some aren't. You can live in the same house as someone with TB and never get it. (My grandmother's father had it, and died of it, but no one else living in the same house with him got it.)
You can find out if the cows producing the raw milk you buy have been tested for TB.
There is some disagreement in the literature as to whether the form of TB that cows can carry is the same as the one that infects people. I don't know enough about it to have an opinion. Some people speculate that much of the problem in the past with TB being spread through cow's milk was because people with TB were doing the milking, and coughing into the bucket while milking. That's unlikely to be a factor these days, both because TB is so much less common in people and because most milking is being done by machine, no open bucket to be coughed into.
TB itself is a somewhat mysterious disease, they still don't really know why some people are susceptible and some aren't. You can live in the same house as someone with TB and never get it. (My grandmother's father had it, and died of it, but no one else living in the same house with him got it.)
You can find out if the cows producing the raw milk you buy have been tested for TB.
