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1885Rabies

History of rabies: Outbreaks and vaccine timeline

Learn about the development, use and impact of the rabies vaccine.

Dr. Louis Pasteur standing in his lab holding a bottle

Dr. Louis Pasteur

Dr. Louis Pasteur, who gives the first rabies vaccine, in his lab.

1885

Dr. Louis Pasteur injects a series of a new rabies vaccine into a boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog. The boy survives. This is the first vaccine to protect against rabies in people. Before the rabies vaccine, nearly all people infected with rabies died.

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