PASTEUR

After five years of extensive study of the rabies virus and the successful treatment of several infected dogs, Louis Pasteur faced his first human patient in July of 1885. Certain that the severely bitten nine-year-old Joseph Meister would not survive without treatment, he began the course of the 13 injections. This was done at some personal risk for Pasteur, since he was not a licensed physician and could have faced prosecution for treating the boy. After administering all 13, one each day, in progressively stronger doses, Meister regained strength and never developed rabies. After a second successful treatment on a bitten shepherd which began in October, word spread and people began to seek him out for the vaccinations. Pasteur was hailed as a hero and the legal matter was not pursued. Analysis of his laboratory notebooks shows that Pasteur had treated two people before his vaccination of Meister. One survived but may not actually have had rabies, and the other died of rabies.A remarkable letter by the scientist penned at the height of his rabies research.TranscriptionJe reçois aujourd'hui 28 janvier 1885 des mains de M. Savadon, négociant à Gray, un chien qui a été roulé par un rabique. Il ne sortira pas de mes chenils où je vais tenter de le rendre réfractaire à la rage malgré sa morsure probable il y a 4 jours.Le 28 janvier 1885 L. PasteurTranslationJanuary, 28th of 1885I have received today, from the hands of Mr. Savadon, a dealer in Gray, a dog that has been attacked by a rabid dog. It will not leave my kennel where I will try to make him resistant to rabies despite the bite being probably at least four days old.January, 28th of 1885