Rabies and how to prevent it : a paper read before the American Social Science Association, Saratoga, September 8, 1886 / by Valentine Mott, M.D., New York.

Mott, Valentine.

Date:: 1887

Credit: Rabies and how to prevent it : a paper read before the American Social Science Association, Saratoga, September 8, 1886 / by Valentine Mott, M.D., New York. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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$be made on the surface of the brain under the dura mater by means of trepanation. These results are also obtained by in. travenous injection. Madness often declared in six or seven days. VII. Eabies brought on by intravenous injection differs from that produced by bites or trepanning. It is possible that many cases of this silent madness have been passed over. In these cases [of medullary rabies, prompt paralysis is frequent, fury of- ten absent, rabic howling rare, while on the other hand, frightful itching and tearing take place. Our experiments have led us to the conclusion that in intravenous inoculation, as far as we can de- termine, the spinal marrow is first attacked; that is to say, the rabic virus first fixes itself there and is propagated. VIII. Inoculation of rabic saliva or blood not followed by death, in intravenous injection in the dog, does not protect against sub- sequent madness and death, upon a fresh inoculation of pure rabic material introduced by trepanation or intravenous inoculation. IX. Cases of spontaneous cure are met with after the appear- ance of the first symptoms, never after the severe symptoms have appeared. In certain cases the severe symptoms appeared much later and were followed by death. X. In one case, out of three dogs inoculated in 1881, two died shortly of rabies, and the third, after having shown the first sj^mp- toms, got well. This dog, although reinoculated hy trepanation twice in 1882, did not become mad. XI. Three other dogs could not be made rabid even with the strongest virus. Did these become refractor^' by reason of a mild rabies cured? or is it that some are naturally so? These propositions are the result of over 200 experiments on dogs, rabbits and sheep. In this report Pasteur first propounds the idea: It is possible to render man refractory to rabies. In his communication to the Academy of Sciences, dated Febru- ary 25, 1884, Pasteur reaffirms his statements made December 11, 1882, and amplifies them, giving the results of various experi- ments verifying them. He announced that he had succeeded in rendering dogs refractory to rabies. The virus was found located also in the nerves of the peripher}-, as well as in the central ner- vous system and salivary glands. He said tliat different quanti- ties of virus inoculated gave rise to different sj'mptoms ; a small quantity to furious rabies, a larger quantity to dumb rabies. At- tention is then called to the fact that the discovery of the attenua-$