THE CONQUEST OF HYDROPHOBIA 227 



stitutes have been created 'in many other countries. 

 There were over forty of them in 19 14. In the 

 course of eighteen years they had treated over 

 100,000 persons with a mortality of 0.73 percent; 

 if we exclude the probably hopeless cases who 

 died within two weeks after treatment, the mor- 

 tality was 0.54 percent. Even though hydro- 

 phobia is not a common disease these figures in- 

 dicate a saving of many thousands of human lives. 

 I happened to live near an institution, the State 

 Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Cali- 

 fornia, which makes and administers the mate- 

 rials used in the Pasteur treatment. California 

 was practically free from hydrophobia before 1909, 

 but at this time some rabid dogs gained entrance 

 into the state and the disease rapidly spread. In 

 parts of the state it became prevalent among the 

 coyotes which did considerable damage by biting 

 sheep and cattle. Efforts were made to check it by 

 having dogs muzzled, but this aroused lively oppo- 

 sition among many people, who are always unrea- 

 sonable in such matters, and muzzling was not 

 thoroughly carried out. The people of the state 

 paid dearly for their failure to take prompt meas- 

 ures to stamp out the disease. Many people were 

 bitten by rabid animals, but, fortunately for them, 



