ed, the less potent was the tissue in producing rabies.The treatment plan used to develop immunity to rabies was to inject under skin of a dog the least potent preparation of minced spinal cord, followed every day for the next 12 days with a stronger and stronger extract. At the end of this time, the animal was completely resistant to bites of rabid dogs and failed to develop rabies if the most potent extracts were applied directly to the brain.Following confirmation of his reports in 1885 that he had made dogs refractory to rabies by vaccination, Pasteur received wide acclaim and much favorable publicity. But why not use the vaccine on humans? Frankly, Pasteur was terribly afraid of things going wrong and he was particularly uneasy about being unable to isolate the rabic substance. And so he continued to insist that many years of additional research was necessary before the treatment could be tried on humans.But the press of events made him act sooner. On July 6, 1886, 9 year old Joseph Meister and his mother appeared at Pasteur's laboratory. Two days earlier the young boy had been bitten repeatedly by a rabid dog. He was so badly mauled that he could hardly walk. His mother appealed to Pasteur to treat her son. At the time Pasteur had treated about 40 dogs, most of whom resisted rabies. Could he risk treating this youth who faced certain death? Pasteur, after consultation with physician colleagues, and much trepidation treated the youth. Despite Pasteur's fears, Meister made a perfect recovery and remained in fine health for the remainder of his life.A few months later a second victim turned up. He was a young shepherd also bitten by a mad dog. Following reports of his successful treatments, the wild acclaim for Pasteur knew no bounds! Victims of dog and wolf bites from France, Russia, the United States poured into his laboratory for treatment. The newspapers and public followed these treatments and cures with intense interest. Pasteu...
