This Day in Health History! July 6, 1885: Rabies Vaccine Saves Boy — and Pasteur

[trotsky]

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2011/07/0706pasteur-rabies-vaccine/

As the director of scientific studies at the Ecole Normale in Paris, Pasteur pursued his germ theory, which posited that germs attack the body from the outside. Proved right again, his work led to vaccinations being developed for many germ-borne diseases, including anthrax, tuberculosis, cholera and smallpox. It also led to further work on rabies, which was much more prevalent in Pasteur’s time than it is today.

He developed his rabies vaccine by growing the virus in rabbits, then drying the affected nerve tissue to weaken the virus.

On July 6, 1885, the vaccine was administered to Joseph Meister, a 9-year-old boy who had been attacked by a rabid dog. The boy survived and avoided contracting rabies, which would have almost certainly proved fatal.

Good thing it worked: Pasteur was not a licensed physician and could have been prosecuted had the vaccine failed. The legalities were forgotten, and Pasteur instead became a national hero.

Yet there are still people today who doubt the germ theory of disease, and the effectiveness of vaccination.

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[demwing]

2. Who doubts the germ theory of disease, or the effectiveness of vaccination?

K&R in advance

[trotsky]

3. You'd be surprised.

Bill Maher is perhaps the most interesting one.

[HuckleB]

5. A few links on the matter...

Germ Theory Denial
http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/germ-theory-denial/

Germ theory denialism explained
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/08/germ_theory_denialism_explained.php

Gobsmacked by germ theory denialism. Again.
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/03/gobsmacked_by_germ_theory_denialism_agai.php

[laconicsax]

4. But the boy later developed autism.

I read it at mercola.com or whale.to, so it must be true!

Or was it at Age of Autism?

[Lisa0825]

6. LMAO!

:spray:

[LeftishBrit]

7. k&r

[LaurenG]

8. And so much better than its precursor the inoculation.

Though inoculation was a worthy step. Thank goodness for the bravery of those who didn't believe disease was god-given and must be suffered.

I believe that the John Adams family decided to inoculate against smallpox when the "clinical trial" (as the article I posted called it) period was in its infancy.

http://www.celebrateboston.com/first/inoculation.htm


(didn't mean to hijack over to inoculations but there were some very brave guinea pigs that paved the way for vaccine and other ways to prevent disease)

[trotsky]

9. Good article.

And you bring up a great point - how disease was viewed as a punishment from the gods (and still is, by many people - esp. AIDS). Early disease-fighting pioneers had to wrestle with not only the pathogens but prevailing attitudes of the time.

Today's germ theory denialists are essentially taking that old jalopy for a spin - their basic claim is that since your condition is not due to a micro-organism, it's your own damn fault for creating a "fertile ground" for disease by not eating right, or taking the right supplements, or even - and this is so very disturbing - not thinking positive enough.