Pasteur’s Discovery of the Rabies Vaccine Thanks to the Ottomans

One of the largest and most important vaccine manufacturers of its time, Ottoman Empirewas a pioneer in bringing the rabies vaccine to market. So, how do you think it was effective in bringing such an invention to life?

If it wasn’t for the Ottoman Empire, maybe rabies vaccine It might never have happened. Because the rabies vaccine passed through Ottoman lands and spread around the world. If you are ready, let’s start explaining!

Towards the end of the 19th century, vaccine research began to be developed.

These periods are important as they took place in very important developments in terms of world history. We know him especially for his vaccine studies. Louis Pasteurin France in 1885 rabies vaccine Its discovery is considered the second modern vaccine produced in human history.

The first was the smallpox vaccine. Lady Montagu, wife of British doctor Edward Jenner, mentions the smallpox vaccine used in the Ottoman Empire in her letters written after her visit to these lands. During this period when the whole world was suffering from smallpox, Edward Jenner, who developed a method used in the Ottoman Empire, saved the whole of Europe thanks to the vaccine.

Ottoman Empire’s invention of smallpox vaccine You can read our content below to see its effect.

Conducting studies on the effects of bacteria on the human body PasteurWhile he was exposed to a lot of criticism on this issue because he was not a medical doctor, he also sought financial support to continue his vaccine production efforts. He wrote letters to many heads of state with requests for help.

The only person he received a response from was the Russian Tsar, but he supported Pasteur by only sending his portrait. Not accepted by anyone Pasteurfound the solution in the Ottoman Empire.

One of Pasteur’s requests for help was to the Ottoman Sultan. II. AbdulhamidReached .

Ottoman sultans Sultan Abdülhamit, whose name was heard the most among all, was a person who was open to every development and science that would enable the progress of the state. He heard Pasteur’s request and stated that he was ready to provide financial support on the condition that the vaccine production studies were carried out in Istanbul.

Although Pasteur was hesitant about this offer, when he did not agree to leave his country, Abdulhamid He did not hesitate to make a second offer to him.

Sultan Abdulhamid, In this offer, he stated that he could donate 10,000 gold coins to Pasteur and that he would honor him with the 1st degree Mecidiye Medal. The only condition was that he included the Ottoman physicians he would choose in his studies.

Pasteur accepted this attractive offer and hired people to train with him. From Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Militaryye-i Şâhâne choosed. These people were Dr. under the chairmanship of professor Alexander Zoeros Pasha. They were Hüseyin Remzi and Veterinarian Hüseyin Hüsnü Bey.

Pasteur first administered the rabies vaccine to a 9-year-old boy named Joseph Meiste, who was bitten by a dog on July 6, 1885.

Whether or not to administer the vaccine Even though there was a lot of hesitation about the issue, they ultimately administered the vaccine, thinking that the child would die without the vaccine.

The vaccine given to the child who was bitten in 14 places started to give positive results within 10 days. Pasteur and his teammates from Mekteb-i Tıbbiye healed the child and administered the rabies vaccine. to successfully develop They felt justified pride.

of Zoeros Pasha The team formed under his leadership returned to Ottoman lands with bone marrow injected with “rabies microbes”. Then, in 1887, Daûl-Kelp and Bacteriology Operating Room (Rabies Treatment Institution) were established in Zoeros Pasha’s clinic.

The importance of this institution is the third in the world rabies center was to happen.

On the eastern borders, the first rabies center It went down in history as. Over time, this center not only provides rabies vaccination; It also began producing diphtheria serum. As a matter of fact, they were successful.

This paved the way for the Ottoman vaccination studies. Known as the “Vaccine Production and Research Institute”Telkihhane“, started operating in July 1892, under the leadership of Dr. Hüseyin Remzi Bey, in a building in the garden of Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Militaryye-i Şahane in Istanbul.

This center made great efforts to quickly bring European microbiological discoveries to our country.

by Emil von Behring in 1892″diphtheria serum” was discovered. In our country, this serum started to be produced in the “Bacteriology Center” by Veterinarian Mustafa Adil and went into production in 1896.

Do not think that the developments ended with this, the Ottoman Empire made great progress in the field of vaccination and in 1897, it was the first in the world. rinderpest The serum was also produced by Mustafa Adil. In 1903, these studies were replaced by the production of scarlet fever serum.

Vaccination studies, which were completely free and carried out by the state, continued unabated in the Ottoman Empire. A major breakthrough has been achieved in the health sector. Thus, this invention of Pasteur, known to the whole world as the rabies vaccine, was used in Ottoman lands. II. Abdulhamid It was implemented with his approval.

Our other contents about the Ottoman Empire: