Louis Pasteur by Nicola Kingsley - National STEM Centre

Statue at the
Pasteur Institute
of a shepherd boy
killing a rabid dog
38
Everyone in the laboratory was in a terrible state. They did
not know what to do. Should they try the vaccine, and risk
Joseph's life and Pasteur's reputation? Pasteur called in
two doctors to examine the boy. They looked at the deep
bites in his hands and said Joseph was very likely to die if
not treated. So they made their decision. Under the
supervision of Dr. Graucher they began the course of
injections. For a few days everything went well. Then
Joseph began to develop symptoms of rabies~ which grew
worse with each new injection. After ten days everyone
was in a state of great anxiety. Pasteur was sleeping badly
and having nightmares. Then something terrible happened.
Carrying a syringe full of virulent rabies microbes with
which he was going to inject the boy, Dr. Graucher slipped
and accidently jabbed it into his own leg. Now he would
have to have the same treatment he was giving Joseph'.
Two of the laboratory assistants begged him not to take
the treatment; nobody knew yet if it worked. "Do you
think that I would do this job every morning", Graucher
replied calmly, "if I wasn't absolutely sure of the method?"
In the argument that followed, Graucher was so persuasive
that the two assistants ended up volunteering themselves
as guinea-pigs for the trial of the vaccine. Pasteur then