Alice Catherine Evans in 1917 and published her work in the "Journal of Infectious Diseases" in 1918. She was met with skepticism, particularly because she was a woman and did not have a Ph.D. She warned that raw milk should be pasteurized to protect people from various diseases. During the 1920s, scientists around the world made the same findings, and eventually, "Brucella" was confirmed as the disease that caused what was then known as undulant fever and Malta fever. Her findings led to the pasteurization of milk in 1930. As a result, the incidence of brucellosis in the United States was significantly reduced.
Human milk bank bank in the US. The 1960’s saw a decline in milk banking because of recent advances in neonatal care and baby formula. Despite these new advancements, in 1980 the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s fund maintained their position that donor breast milk is the best alternative to the mother’s breast milk. The practice of milk banking declined further with the HIV epidemic. The need for stringent screening increased the cost of operating milk banks, forcing them to close doors. Improved screening methods and standardization of procedure have made donated milk a viable alternative to mother’s breast milk.