The Origin of the Rabies Vaccine

The history of the rabies vaccine is really the story of scientific vaccines at large. In this video, Patrick Kelly tells the story of the history of rabies in society, the origin of the first rabies vaccine, explains the biology of rabies, and tells the story of the four boys from Newark New Jersey that survived rabies.

☠️NONE OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS VIDEO SHOULD BE USED AS MEDICAL ADVICE OR OPINION. IT IS FOR GENERAL EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT☠️

🔗 L I N K S 🔗

🔑 P A T R O N S 🔑
Michelle H
Rourou Y
Joanne K
Sal F
Joe B
Kristoffer R
Brandon K
Brendan P
Karly N
Ron Blumenfeld
Dane M

📜 S O U R C E S 📜

Rabid by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy (2012)

Miracle Cure, the Creation of Antibiotics

Timeline of Vaccines
Rabies: a possible explanation for the vampire legend (1998)
Medical inquiries and observations by Bejamin Rush (1805)
America’s first medical breakthrough (1998)
The first live attenuated vaccines (2020)
History of Pasteur Institute
Lecture 14 - The Germ Theory of Disease
Louis Pasteur, the father of immunology (2012)
CDC’s History of Anthrax
Rabid Response (2017)
Inoculation Against Hydrophobia in Popular Science Monthly (1886)
Developments in Rabies Vaccines: The Path Traversed from Pasteur to the Modern Era of Immunization (2023)
Four Thousand Years of Concepts Relating to Rabies (2017)
Up to date rabies cases
Child survivor of rabies in India case repor (2020)
Recovery from Rabies in Man (1976)
Pasteur and rabies: the British connection (1989)

IMAGES

💻 C O N T A C T 💻
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⌛T I M E S T A M P S ⌛
0:00 Intro
0:39 Biology of Rabies
2:58 Hair of the Dog (Antiquity)
8:32 Vaccines al Pasteur (Vaccine Development)
17:27 Out of La Rage (Public Health)

#historyofmedicine #medicalhistory

[cellgrrl]

I am a nurse. Back around year 2000 I was working in an urgent care clinic A patient came in requesting that someone give her the rabies post-bite treatment as she had been bitten by a strange dog. She acquired from the state all needed vaccine supplies but found out that no one locally would administer it to her. Not even the ER. Not wanting to make a long distance trip to our state public health dept., eventually she ended up in our clinic. No one, including myself had ever given it in our entire careers. No other nurse would do it (it was complicated and legal liability was questionable), so I said I would do it after reviewing her materials. The treatment required my study of her materials, doing a little bit of math, and injecting immune globulin around her wound and a calculated dose IM. She also got a rabies vaccine. I forgot all the details but it required a few more visits. I will say it was nothing like the horror stories we have heard about in the past with the injections into the abdomen. It simply wasn't really anything to fear, except finding a person willing to give it which was ridiculous. I found the experience educational and fulfilling and am so glad that I agree to do it.

[Joy-TheLazyCatLady]

I was bitten by a feral kitten. The ER doctor recommended the rabies vaccines. He said, "Do I think you will get rabies? No. Do I want to take that chance? No." So I did it. It's not so bad. Better than a painful death.

[xkguy]

I'm a retired physician. I really wish these vids were around while I was in med school. Very few of my professors were such good story tellers.

[bexica]

I’m rabies vaccinated due to my work (vet med). It is a horrifying disease. I can’t tell you how many people have asked if we can test their animal for rabies…while they’re alive. Yes, ma’am we can test, but it involves removing their head, so you probably want to hold off on that for now.

[Klelslol]

My great-grandfather 4 generations back caught this disease in the 1890s. He was a blacksmith that worked close to a school and was bitten by a rabid dog he killed with his hammer (the dog was trying to attack two small school children). After developing symptoms (which happened a little over a month later), the only thing that could be done for him was to tie him to a bed and wait for him to die (he ended up having the furious version). Truly a terrifying disease.

[percyx]

I’m a health inspector in Ontario Canada and we investigate animal exposures due to the risk of rabies. The cost for rabies treatment is covered by the government and public health keeps the vaccine and dispenses it when needed. Saw some comments where people need to pay 10k+ out of pocket in the States, which is insane!

[MK-jfre]

My dad was a Marine in the Korean War. Being a dog lover he tried sharing his food with a dog and then got bt by it and they realized it was probably rabid. They had a plane fly to the nearest country that had the vaccine, thankfully making it back in time to save my dad.

[dianelipson]

I genuinely think this was less about ease and more about the pure horror of the disease. It’s turned people mad and frenzied. And it turned our best friends into our worst enemies against their will. And because kids love dogs, it attacked more children. It is possibly the most dreaded disease in all of history.

[Davidbirdman]

When I was a kid I was going outside to play when my mother snatched me back in the house and slammed the door. She said, that dog has rabies!
I looked out and there was a poor old dog standing in the street tossing his head side to side and thick strands of salvia was flying through the air. He was growling and shaking and it looked terrifying to me.
My mom called the police and soon a cop came and parked near the dog, he got out and carefully got close enough to shoot the dog in the head. I was about 6 years old and the experience never left my mind.

[childofcascadia]

I wanted to find out if rabid people bit others so I started researching it.

That sent me down a crazy rabbit hole. Rabies is a horrible, horrible illness.

The answer- rabid people dont generally bite people. They can get aggressive and hit people though. Rabid very young kids might bite though.

[davidvines]

I had the rabies vaccines back in the 50’s. 14 shots in the belly. I was about 6 years old. Our dog scratched or buy a neighborhood kid. His/her mom asked my dad to lock the dog up. It died over night and had a foamy substance coming out of its mouth. Everyone that had came in contact with us or the dog had to get the shot. It was an event for sure as the line stretched around the block where the local Dr’s office was. The nurses would use tattoos of Popeye, Olive Oil and Brutus on our stomach so that ‘ they’ would get the shot.

[mariawhite]

I actually recently got a bat bite last month (may). Went through the whole round of vaccines. Along with a tetanus shot my arms are still aching with phantom pains.

[purplecleo]

There was a toddler patient in northern california around 15 years ago who also survived and it was the region's first successful treatment of rabies, they worked really hard because she was a child. It left a big impression on the community.

[legionofyuri]

Can we just appreciate the fact that back then, you can get people together for a demonstration of a vaccine as a public spectacle.

[minacapella]

People love to imagine a "zombie virus", and although reanimated corpses that can spread their undeath through bites may not be realistic, rabies is pretty similar to what we would expect a "zombie virus" to be. Its both horrifying and fascinating to learn about, and im glad i live in an age with an available vaccine. A big thanks to everyone who put any effort into getting us that far, especially pasteur.

[MogamiKyoko]

If you think about it, a lot of the various humans-to-monsters myths involve being bitten by the monster. Rabies is probably an inspiration for many of them all around the world.

[eliz_scubavn]

As a fun fact, Alexander Yersin, the man who helped discover the plague virus, lived in Vietnam, in the coastal city of Nha Trang where I currently am . His house and laboratory is now a museum you can visit.

[atashgallagher]

It does actually somewhat cause a fear of water because even just seeing the water while that dehydrated causes an involuntary swallow, which then results in incredibly painful spasms.

So you show them a cup of water and they'll react like they're being strangled. At least in some cases.

[braydonthegreat]

This certainly allayed a lot of my rabies anxiety. Thanks a bunch!

[betsybarnicle]

Back in 1991, only about 100 years after Pasteur's vaccine, my brother was a state health inspector in south Florida. He told me how he personally was the one who had to take the rabid dog's head to the lab to be confirmed after a dog bite.