The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-05-21
A CURE FOR RABIES.
Important Discovery by a French
Chemist.
Similia Similibus Curantur; in Other
Words, "the Hair of the Dog Is
Cure for the Hfte',-In-
8cuIaliOn.

PARIS, May 2L--M. Louis Pasteur, the
celebrated French chemist, claims to have
made discovery of the most vital import
tnce nothing less, in fact, than complete
,ure, or rather antidote, for hydrophobia.
In an interview with a Figaro cor
respondent NJ Pasteur says: "Cauter-
zation of the wound Immediately after
the bite, as is well known, has been more
or less effective, but from to-day anybody
bitten by mad dog has only TO present him
self at the laboratory of the Ecole Normale
and by incubation | will make him COM
pletely insusceptible to the effects of hydro
phobia, even if bitten subsequently by any
number of mad dogs l have been devoting
the last four years to this subject. | found
out in the first place that the virus rabiuue
loses its intensity by transmission to certain
animals and increases its intensity by
transmission to other animals With the
rabbit, for instance, the virus rabinue
increases; with the monkey it decreases. My
method was as follows: l took the virus
direct from the brain of dog that died
from acute hydrophobia With this virus |
noculated a monkey. The monkey died.
Then with the virus already weakened in in
tensity, taken from this monkey, inocu-
lated a second monkey. Then with the virus
AIKEN from the second monkey inoculated
bird monkey, and 10 on until
{ obtained a virus SO weak as
% be almost harmless. Then with this oil,
most harmless virus | inoculated a rabbit,
the virus being at once increased in intensity,
Then with the virus from the first rabbit
nocculated a second rabbit, and there was
another increase in the intensity of the virus.
Then with the virus of the second rabbit |
nocuEEed a third rabbit, then fourth,
until tie virus had regained its maximum
intensity. Thus ] obtained virus Of
different degrees of power. l then took
dog and inoculated him first with the weakest
virus from the rabbit, then with the virus
from the second rabbit, and finally with the
rabbit virus of maximum intensity. After
few days more 1 inoculated the dog with
virus directly from the brain of dog that
had Just died of acute madness. The dog
upon which / experimental proved COM
pletely unsusceptible to hydrophobia. The
experiment was frequently repeated, always
with the same successful result
But my discovery does not end here.
took two dogs and inoculated them both with
virus taken directly from a dog that had just
died of acute hydrophobia l let one of my
two dogs thus inoculated alone and he went
mad and died of acute hydrophobia | sub
iected the second dog to my treatment, giving
him the three Rabbit inoculations. beginning
with the weakest and ending with the strong
est The second dog was completely cured,
or rather became completely unsusceptible
to hydrophobia."
NJ Pasteur then went to kennel and ca
ressed dog, that had undergone this latter
operation. SaidM. Pasteur: "Whoever gets
bitten by mad dog has only to submit to M
| three little NEGOTIATIONS and he need dot have
| The slightest fear of hydrophobia.