In 1885, Joseph Meister, a nine-year-old boy from a remote village in Alsace, was bitten fourteen times on the arms by a rabid dog while trying to protect his face. His desperate mother brought him to Paris seeking help from Louis Pasteur. Although the dog was killed, the boy’s life was hanging by a thread, and historically, rabies had always been fatal once symptoms appeared. Pasteur was deeply moved by the child’s suffering and the mother’s anxious eyes. He knew that if untreated, Meister would soon experience furious convulsions, paralysis, and death. That night, Pasteur sat at his desk, exhausted and troubled, pondering how he could save the child. The rabies vaccine he had developed had been tested successfully on animals, but never on humans. Using it on a child was uncharted territory, and the risks were enormous. Yet if he did nothing, the boy would certainly die.
The next morning, Pasteur consulted several experienced physicians who had worked with him. They weighed the choices: certain death versus the possibility of survival through the experimental vaccine. After careful discussion, they agreed that the vaccine should be administered. That same afternoon, on July 7, 1885, Pasteur and his two trusted colleagues gave Joseph Meister the first injection under the skin of his abdomen.
In the following days, Meister received additional injections, with doses gradually increasing in strength. At first, everything went well: the boy slept peacefully, ate well, and showed no adverse reactions at the injection sites. However, as the doses grew stronger, he began to show minor symptoms: slight redness at the injection sites and mild restlessness, though he remained alert, ate, and slept normally. These early reactions indicated that the vaccine was taking effect, though Pasteur remained anxious about the boy’s response.
Nine days of waiting felt like nine months for Pasteur. On the tenth day, Joseph Meister was scheduled to receive the final injection. This last dose was extremely strong, so potent that in animals it would trigger rabies within seven days if their bodies were not properly immune. Pasteur spent the entire night wrestling with doubt and fear. He questioned whether it was truly necessary to give such a dangerous dose to a child. Exhausted and sleep deprived, with his hair and beard showing the strain, he even briefly considered stopping, reasoning that the ninth injection might have been sufficient. However, as dawn approached, Pasteur realized that administering the final dose was crucial. It would both test the immunity built up from the previous injections and ensure that Meister was fully protected against rabies.
Pasteur personally oversaw the administration of the tenth dose, gently guiding Meister to lie down afterward and comforting him. The next seven days were filled with tense waiting, counting every hour and minute, fearing sudden rabies symptoms. Pasteur tirelessly checked on the boy, sometimes moving alone with a cane to ensure his safety. Finally, on the seventh day after the final injection, Joseph Meister remained perfectly healthy. Pasteur slept peacefully that night for the first time in days. Meister was fully cured and ready to return home to Alsace to continue his life and schooling.
Word of Pasteur’s success spread rapidly, and soon his laboratory became a refuge for rabies victims. This breakthrough led to the establishment of the Pasteur Institute by the French Academy of Sciences a year later, the first institute in the world dedicated to rabies treatment and research. Louis Pasteur’s work not only saved countless lives but also marked a historic milestone in medical science.