Ill PASTEUR AND HYDROPHOBIA 153 



consideration of the separate cases. But one of the 

 most hopeful features in M. Grancher's statement is 

 that he records only one death out of the ninety-six 

 persons who were bitten by dogs experimentally proved 

 to be rabid — proved, that is, by the communication of 

 rabies by the dogs to other animals. 



Another extremely important series of cases is 

 afforded by the forty-eight cases of wolf-bites treated 

 by Pasteur's method. Owing to the fact that the 

 rabid wolf attacks the throat and face of the man upon 

 whom it rushes, the virus is not cleared from its teeth 

 by their passage through clothing, as undoubtedly 

 occurs in many cases of rabid dogs' bite. It is probable 

 that this, together with the greater depth and extent 

 of the wounds inflicted by wolves, accounts for the 

 fact that whilst only 16 per cent of the persons bitten 

 by rabid dogs die, as many as 66 '5 per cent of the 

 persons bitten by rabid wolves have hitherto suc- 

 cumbed. Pasteur has reduced this percentage in the 

 forty-eight cases of wolf-bites treated by him to 14 ; 

 seven of his cases died. But it is important to remem- 

 ber that some of these cases were treated a long while 

 (three weeks or more) after the bite ; and also that the 

 bites themselves, apart from the virus introduced into 

 them, w^ere of a very dangerous nature in some cases. 

 On the other hand, it is equally true that we do not 

 know, until some very much more complete record is 

 placed before us than we have at j)resent, how many 

 cases of very slight injury, mere nips or scratches, 

 may have been included among the forty-eight cases of 

 wolf-bite. 



