220 
HERMANN M. BIGGS. 
Since .Pasteur’s communication to the French Academy, n 
October 26, 1885, his laboratory has been besieged by many pei 
sons from all countries who had been bitten by rabid dogs, am 
after the lapse of only a little more than two months, up to Jan 
uary 1, 1886, nearly one hundred and forty persons of all age 
and nationalities had been subjected to these inoculations. Th 
period that had elapsed after the accident, before the treatmen 
was commenced, varied in different cases from a few hours t 
thirty-six days. In these one hundred and forty cases, up to th 
time of my visit to Paris, only one death had occurred, and in thi 
case the child was not inoculated for the first time until thirty-si; 
days after she had been bitten. Shortly after the inoculation 
were completed this patient died with clearly defined symptom 
of hydrophobia. In explanation of the failure to prevent th 
appearance of the disease in this instance, Pasteur asserted tha 
the period of incubation of the disease as transmitted from th 
rabid dog had elapsed before immunity had been conferred by th 
inoculations. This explanation certainly seems to be reasonabl 
when we remember that the period of incubation of rabies in th 
human being, although usually more than thirty-six days, still no 
infrequently is less than this time. An interesting and seriou 
question came up in connection with this death. It was, o 
course, possible that the disease might have been the result o 
the bite of the rabid dog, or might have been caused by the fa 
more virulent virus use in the inoculations. A solution of thi 
question was obtained in the following manner: The virus of 
rabid dog, when transferred to a rabbit by inoculation underneatl 
the dura mater after trephining, produces rabies on an average ii 
fifteen days, while the most virulent cords used in the inoculation 
produced rabies in rabbits with the greatest uniformity in sevei 
days, and in dogs in from eight to ten days. Pasteur then as 
serted that if rabbits were inoculated in the usual manner wit! 
material from the brain or spinal cord of this child, that if th* 
disease of the child was produced by the inoculation, the rabbit 
would die of rabies which declared itself after a period of incu 
bation of seven days; but if the disease in the child was due t< 
the inoculation made by the bite of the rabid dog, then diseas 
