Rabies cases have been reported since before
2300 BC. Even Homer, Democritus, and Aristotle
mention rabies in their writings. But it wasn't until
the 1st century AD that a Roman scholar named
Aulus Cornelius Celsus provided the first accurate
description of the disease and the wide range of
species that could be infected. During the Spanish
exploration of the Americas, a bishop described small
animals that bit Spanish soldiers' toes as they
slept, resulting in their death. It is speculated that
they were bitten by rabid vampire bats, which still
play a major role in the transmission of rabies in
Latin America. The first scientist to test rabies
infection through the inoculation of saliva was a
German scientist named Zinke in 1804. Several other
scientists followed in Zinke's footsteps, but it wasn't until Louis
Pasteur began experimenting that a vaccine was developed. Pasteur was
born December 27, 1822, in Dôle, France. He became a worldwide leader in the
development of vaccines, most notably for anthrax and rabies. Pasteur and his group of scientists
began their work on the rabies vaccine by first injecting the disease into rabbits. They
made various observations, including the amount of time it took for the virus
to weaken in the spinal cords of the rabbits. In time, Pasteur began repeatedly
injecting dogs with weakened versions of the virus and noted that injections
could prevent the disease before exposure and afterward. The first treatment
of a human patient was that of a young, badly bitten boy named Joseph Meister.
The series of rabies vaccinations were a success; this was the beginning of
the use of rabies vaccine throughout the world.
