Woman issues warning after catching 'world's most infectious disease' from bowl of cereal

Deadly breakfasts aren't your bog-standard bits of news, are they? But the tale of Tilly Rose and her extended brush with the world's most infectious disease is really something to take note from.

When she was just five years old and staying at her great auntie's dairy farm in Cork, Ireland, the youngster effectively drank straight from the source when enjoying a bowl of cereal.

This consumption of unpasteurised milk led to tuberculosis (TB), which was only diagnosed 15 years later and still hasn't released its terrible grip on Rose.

"That one moment on that farm became a domino effect that shaped my whole life," the now-33-year-old told The Sun Health.

Instagram/thattillyrose)

Prior to succumbing to the illness, she'd been a "very healthy child" and loved participating in sports and other activities.

Once TB got a proper hold of her, though, Tilly's adolescence was dominated by exhaustion that left her housebound. She would wake up in the morning "drenched in sweat", but for years, doctors cited chest infections and pneumonia as the cause. Every time she climbed up the stairs, or walked small distances, her lungs would suffer, and this forced her family to move into a bungalow.

"It wasn't just tiredness. It felt like my whole body was struggling to move. I could manage the symptoms better if I stayed really still," Tilly added.

Instagram/thattillyrose)

By the age of 16, Tilly was in such a state that she couldn't eat any solids and was put on a liquid diet.

She was then rushed to surgery after doctors discovered that part of her intestine had gotten blocked. It was eventually removed, although medical staff remained flummoxed.

"Those are all moments in time that I will never, ever get back. I was told not to bother taking my GCSEs, not to bother applying to university," she continued.

"I'm going to die of this," she recalled warning her mum at the time.

It was only when a junior doctor questioned whether something else was going on that a TB test was greenlit. The results put to bed years of mystery and frustration.

"I was terrified. TB is one of those words loaded with stigma. I was scared people would look at me differently and that I'd just become 'the girl with TB.'"

Additional tests confirmed that she had a rare strain of the disease linked to unpasteurised dairy, which she'd been drinking "every morning" of her childhood.

"I've missed out on so much of my own life. But if telling this story helps even one person get a TB diagnosis sooner, then it's become bigger than just me and it is worth it."

Her memoir, 'Be Patient: Life, Loss and Laughter from Behind the Hospital Curtain', was published in March 2025.