Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-07
A CURE FOE HYpROpHoRIA.
DR.. PRsteur Announces the Success Of
the Inoeulati on Treatment.

] rom ~ I NTt5 & apo requiem
/ DR.. Louis Pasteur's experiments have
resulted in a most brilliant success. AT
| perhaps the most important sitting held
/ by the Academy ofsclences, DR.. Pasteur
thus described the process OF cure by
means of a rabbit inoculated with the
fragment Of a tissue taken from the spine
Of rabid dog. The incubation OF the
poison occupied fifteen days. AS soon as
the first rabbit inocaiated was dead por-
| ton from its spinal marrow was in turn
1 inOculated into "A second bbit, and so on
until go rabbits had been iuoculated. At
each successive incubation the virus in
creased in potency, and the last period Of
incubation did nOtocCupy more than sew
en DAYS.
Having ascertained that exposure to
dried air diminished the virus, and conse-
quently reduced its force, DR.. Pasteur
supplied himself with a series OF bottles
Of dried air. In these bottles he placed
portions OF inOculated spinal marrow at
successive dates, the oldest being the
least virulent and the latest the most 50.
For an operation, DR.. Pasteuf begins by
lnOculating his subject with the Oldest
tissue and finishes by the injection of
piece Of tissue whose bOttling dates back
only two days and whose period OF incu-
baton would not exceed one week. The
subject is then found to be absolutely
proof against the disease.
A boy ~ years OF age, named Meister,
who had been bitten fourteen times, came
from Alsace with his mother to see Dr.
Pasteur. The autopsy Of the dog which
had bitten the boy left no doubt as TO its
having suffered from hydrophobia. Dr.
Pasteur took the celebrated DR.. Vulpian
and Professor of the School OF Medicine
TO see the boy MeIster. These two doc
tors came to the conclusion that the boy
was doomed to a painful death and might
be experimental upon. In thirteen DAYS
NEGOTIATIONS were made upon Meister
with pieces Of spinal marrow containing
virus OF cOnstantly-increasing strength
the last being from the spine OF "A rabbit
that died only the day before. Now 100
days have passed since Meister under
went the last incubation. The treat
ment has been thoroughly successful and
the boy is in perfect health. He had been
bitten sixty hours and had travelled from
Alsace to Paris before the first inocula-
ton was performed.
A shepherd boy named Judith, aged
10, was bitten by mad dog a fortnight
ago and has now been aweek under treat
ment. DR.. Pasteur is confident of curing
him.
DIR. Pasteur said that it was now neces.
sary 10 provide an establishment where
rabbits might always be kept inOcuated
with the disease. In this way "A constant
supply of spinal tissues Of old and recent
incubation would always be ready. BE.
fore the sitting was adjourned DR.. Pas
teur received an enthusiastic ovation from
both the Academy itself and the public
who were present. Among those present
l noticed the Grand Duke Alexis, who is
great dog fancler, and NJ. de Lesseps,
who went to hear DIR. Pasteur's report in
dOrsed by DR.. Vulpian.
One OF the leading doctors present re-
marked that the question was whether a
man cured OF hydrOphobia could suffer
from second bite. In other words,
whether the incubation of virus was a
guarantee against hydrOphobia. In an
sweT, DR.. Pasteur states that the malady
Is transmissible only by bite. If, there
fore, by general compulsory incubation
OF dogs for several generations dogs bad
been made incapable of hydrophobia, the
malady would have disappeared and
there would be no occasion to ask whether
incubation had permanent effect or not.
AS to the origin Of hydrOphObia, DIR. Pas
teur says nobody in the world can explain
its primal causes. As he remarked-per-
haps out of pOliteness-his theory will
require study by the profession in order
to make IL practical, but he emphatically
stated that the cure for hydrophabia had
been found.