PROTECTION OF MAN AGAINST RABIES AFTER EXPOSURE PAST HISTORY - PRESENT STATE AND THE FUTURE OUTLOOK

Abstract

After a period of at least 2000 years that rabies existed. on earth and its clinical symptoms were clearly defined, even before Christ, the first basic
and precise knowledge about this fatal disease of man and animals was advocated by Zinke in 1804. The discovery of the domesticated rabbit as a convenient laboratory animal for the study and the diagnosis of the disease by Galtier in 1879 and the outstanding finding by Raux in 1881 concerning the neurotropism of the agent of the disease and the intracerebral route of inoculation by which prompt transmission could be established, paved the way for Pasteur and his colleagues for their world-known discovery of protecting animals and man against this disease. The vaccine produced and administered by Pasteur himself and numerous other types of vaccines always prepared with the same Pasteur's historical and modified virus which he named "fixed virus" were endeavours in the way of improving the safety and the antieenicitv of the products to fight a hundred per cent fatal illness. The evolution of these efforts during the past 90 years, since Pasteur's first attempt to protect an exposed individual against rabies crowned by outstanding and vcrv promising results are discussed.