HISTORY 



307 



among dogs is found in their tendency to bite. A verj^ large 

 percentage, in fact nearly all, of the cases in man and in the 

 domesticated animals are caused by inoculation from the bites 

 of rabid dogs. 



S 235. History. Rabies was described by Aristotle in 

 the fourth century B. C. He wrote, "Dogs suffer from mad- 

 ness that puts them in a state of fury, and all the animals that 

 they bite, when in this condition, become also attacked by 

 rabies." Cornelius Celsius who lived in the first part of the 

 Christian era seems to have been the first to refer to human 

 rabies and to employ the term "hydrophobia." 



The transmission of the disease by wolves to man was 

 recorded in 1591. In 1S03, and for a number of years follow- 

 ing, it was epizootic among foxes in Southern Germany and 

 Switzerland. 



During the latter part of the eighteenth and the beginning 

 of the nineteenth centur}' the disease extended over Europe 

 and about this time it appeared in America. The first out- 

 break in this country was reported from Boston in 1768. In 

 1770 to 1 77 1 it was observed in dogs and foxes in the vicinity 

 of Boston ; in the year 1779 it appeared in Philadelphia and 

 in the state of Mar3dand ; in 1785 it was prevalent throughout 

 the northern States and soon after it spread to-^the southern 

 States. During the last century it has caused heavy losses 

 among farm animals thronghout Europe and America. 



It has called forth careful study from many of the ablest 

 men in the medical professions. Among them may be men- 

 tioned John Hunter in England, Viborg in Copenhagen, Wal- 

 ■dinger in Vienna, Hertwig in Germany and Pasteur in France. 

 Without detracting in the least from the great work of other 

 investigators, we may say that to Pasteur and his co-laborers, 

 Nocard and Roux, we owe much of the knowledge which we 

 possess of the disease at the present day. 



§236. Geographical distribution. Rabies is known 

 to exist in almost every country on the globe. Australia is 

 the only land which is said to be absolutely free from it. This 

 exemption is the gratifying result of a rigid quarantine en- 

 forced against dogs imported to that island. Rabies is very 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



