The rabies vaccine

The rabies is a serius illness of the central nervous system. It affects the mammals, including humans. It is caused by a virus which is transmitted through the saliva.

The rabies vaccine is one medicine which is inserted into the organism by injection. It’s used for avoiding and attacking the disease.

The discoverer of the vaccine was Louis Pasteur. He was born on 7th December 1822 in Xura (France). He was interested in chemistry (although in school he wasn’t very brilliant). He was a teacher of chemistry in Strasburg (1847-1853). He was the discoverer of several vaccines, and the rabies was one of them (it was the most important). Pasteur died in 1895, ten years after he discovered the vaccine.

On 4th June 1885, a 9 year old boy, Joseph Meister, was bitten by his dog, which had rabies. His parents took him to Pasteur. If Pasteur didn’t do anything, the boy would die with a lot of pain. Pasteur injected the vaccine during 11 days so as to help the body of the boy to form the necessary defenses. The boy finally survived and Pasteur was the miracle man. It was 123 years ago in Paris (France) and in this year:

· France conquered Madagascar.
· King Alfonso XII died (Spain)

Since 1885 the vaccine of Pasteur has saved many lives. Nowadays if we are bitten by a rabious dog, we don’t die of rabies. Thanks to this discovery thousands of people have survived.