Louis Pasteur: Man of science who tamed rabies



A little over three years ago, Anthony Fauci went on MSNBC to address critics of his COVID policies. What made the attacks on him especially "dangerous," the doctor cautioned, was that they were actually "attacks on science."

These days, of course, Fauci is eager to distance himself from the dubious "science" he once championed, be it public mask mandates, school shutdowns, or confident statements that the virus did not originate from a lab leak. It should be clear by now — if it wasn't before — that "science" is just as susceptible to superstition and groupthink as any human endeavor. Contradicting conventional wisdom can entail real risk.

Had his rabies vaccine not worked on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur could very well have ended his career in disgrace and in prison. Not only did Pasteur have no proof that his vaccine would work on humans, he had no medical license allowing him to administer it.

By that point in his career, Pasteur was already quite successful and had no reason to rush development on his cure for rabies. In the 1860s, he had disproved the conventional wisdom that illness and pests who spread it arose spontaneously from nonliving matter by showing that invisible bacteria were to blame. Identifying the enemy allowed the development of effective ways to stop it: among them the well-known process of destroying microbes in beer and milk that takes Pasteur's name. He also pioneered the process of artificially weakening bacilli in order to use them in vaccines.

But the boy's mother was desperate for any chance at saving her son from a hideously painful death. For some idea of what he faced, we can turn to this contemporary case study:

On the 17th of June, 1981 an Englishwoman traveling in India was bitten on the leg by a dog. The wound was immediately cleansed by her husband using whisky as an antiseptic. She later attended a local clinic where the wound was again washed and packed with antiseptic powder. The woman returned to England in July and the wound was redressed in her local hospital. By the middle of August she became constantly tired and complained of aches and shooting pains in the back. She was anxious and depressed, and appeared to catch her breath when trying to drink. By the 19th of August she found it impossible to drink more than a few sips. She could not bear the touch of the wind or her hair on her face and had moments of apparent terror. The following day she was confused, hallucinating, incontinent of urine and quite unable to eat or drink. For the next two days she was intermittently hallucinating and screaming with terror until she collapsed and had a cardiac arrest. Although she was resuscitated in the ambulance whilst being carried to intensive care, she died two days later, on 24th of August 1981, without recovering consciousness.

So, Pasteur summoned some medical colleagues and proceeded to put his reputation on the line. As he wrote in his notebook: “The child’s death appeared inevitable. I decided not without acute and harrowing anxiety, as may be imagined, to apply to Joseph Meister the method which I had found consistently successful with dogs.”

Whatever mixture of charity and ambition prompted Pasteur to make this audacious bet, it paid off. Meister fully recovered and lived into his 60s, and rabies was no longer a death sentence.

Capitol Hill fox update: DC health department says the recently captured and euthanized fox tested positive for rabies



A fox said to have bitten multiple people on Capitol Hill before eventually getting nabbed and euthanized has tested positive for rabies.

"The DC Public Health lab has confirmed the fox that was captured yesterday tested positive for the rabies virus. DC Health is contacting all human victims who were bitten by the fox," the DC Department of Health reportedly said in a statement on Wednesday.

Per @_DCHealth-> \u201cThe DC Public Health lab has confirmed the fox that was captured yesterday tested positive for the rabies virus. DC Health is contacting all human victims who were bitten by the fox."
— Mike Emanuel \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Mike Emanuel \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1649281501

The department had previously noted that the animal was "humanely euthanized so that rabies testing may be done."

Democratic Rep. Ami Bera of California was one of the unfortunate people who recently experienced a fox attack.

Heather Caygle of Punchbowl News reported that the Bera told her that the animal had pierced his suit to his sock, but that the congressman said he did not see any wound on his skin.

UPDATE: Here's an exclusive picture of Bera's suit with the puncture marks from the fox\n\nBera told me the fox punctured his suit to his sock, but he did not see a wound on his skin. \n\n(Photo courtesy of Bera's office)pic.twitter.com/ln1DdQJ8K1
— Heather Caygle (@Heather Caygle) 1649191434

Bera characterized the attack that unfolded near the Russel building as "unprovoked."

"I didn’t see it and all of a sudden I felt something lunge at the back of my leg," the congressman said, according to Caygle. "I jumped and got my umbrella," Bera noted.

Caygle said that the congressman demonstrated how he turned around swiftly, utilizing his umbrella to frighten the creature away.

"Someone was like 'hey a fox is attacking that guy,'" Bera said. "Capitol police came out and then fox ran away. It was the most bizarre day in Congress," the congressman noted.

"I expect to get attacked if I go on Fox News, I don’t expect to get attacked by a fox," he said, according to Caygle.

Scott Wong of NBC News noted in a tweet that Bera had said he was not certain that the fox that was captured was the same fox that had bitten him.

@RepBera now says he\u2019s not sure the fox they caught yesterday was the one that bit him! (He managed to snap this photo of it)\n\nBera is all smiles today and says he\u2019s feeling fine https://twitter.com/scottwongdc/status/1511474970848866312\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/HlezKJ2oEv
— Scott Wong (@Scott Wong) 1649252865

"The fox pierced Rep. Bera’s suit, but it was inconclusive whether or not the fox pierced his skin," Bera's communications director Travis Horne reportedly said. "Out of an abundance of caution and per the Attending Physicians recommendation, Rep. Bera went to Walter Reed Hospital ... and received his appropriate shots," Horne noted

"Out of an abundance of caution and per the Attending Physicians recommendation, Rep. Bera went to Walter Reed Hospital last night and received his appropriate shots," Horne said. "Rep. Bera feels well and is at work today."
— Kyle Stewart (@Kyle Stewart) 1649191283


At least 15 kindergarteners come into contact with rabid bat



At least 15 students from a Texas elementary school have reportedly come into contact with a rabid bat outside of their school on Nov. 2.

The New York Daily News reported that most of the 15 children have been found and have been referred to receive medical treatment after the exposure.

What are the details?

A group of children, all students at Lagos Elementary School in Manor, Texas, were reportedly discovered playing with or near the bat around 9 a.m.

On Wednesday, the Manor Police Department issued a statement revealing they were looking for those students and any other who may have come in contact with the bat.

"The Manor Police Department is working with Manor ISD to identify students at Lagos Elementary School who may have come into contact with a bat that tested positive for rabies by the Texas Department of State Health Services," the statement, posted on Facebook, began.

"Video footage viewed by Manor ISD discovered approximately 15 kindergarten students near or playing with the infected bat on Monday 11/02/2020 at approximately 9am," the statement continued. "Exposure with infection, if left untreated, can be fatal. If detected early, the virus is highly treatable. Manor ISD is attempting to contact parents directly of kindergarten students [sic] classes that were shown in the video."

'No confirmed cases' of rabies in children

Sgt. Craig Struble of the Manor Police Department, told WJZY-TV that there are no confirmed cases of rabies among the children at the time of this reporting.

"The students were seen touching the bat in the school playground," he said. "At this point there are no confirmed cases of kids contracting rabies from the bat."

What else?

In a Wednesday statement, a spokesperson for the district said, "Administrators at Lagos Elementary School were notified that several scholars at the campus may have come in close contact with a rabid bat. District established procedures to remove the bat were immediately followed. The scholars and families have been referred to a physician."

The district added that it would be monitoring the issue and would inspect the school "for any signs of bats and other pests."

"School officials will take the appropriate actions and notify you if any bats or other pests are found," the district added. "Manor ISD is working closely with Manor PD on this matter."

KXAN-TV noted, "If a parent has any questions about a child's potential exposure to the rabid bat, the district asks you to call its assistant director of Health Services and Wellness at 512-278-4093 and Manor Animal Control at 512-230-8348."