Dr. Louis Pasteur completely changed the world as we know it with all his work and dedication in microbiology. His discovery of germ theory made the realization that is was not the air we breathe that causes disease but tiny microorganisms that bring sickness whether cholera or the Delta Variant. Something as simple as hand washing can help prevent the spread of germs. Pasteur’s work made hospitals antiseptic and has saved millions of lives.
His many accomplishments with Pasteurization with milk, wine, and beer demonstrated that bacteria could be removed by boiling them to a certain degree. Pasteur saved the silk industry as well. He invented a vaccine for anthrax saving livestock. Another great revelation of his was the serum for rabies. In the book The Adventures of Francie Fitzgerald, the New Jersey boys, as they were later called, and Francie take a ship to France and a train to the Ecole Normale in Paris to Dr. Louis Pasteur after the boys were attacked by a rabid dog. Here is a vaccine that can be administered after a person is bitten by a diseased animal.
Nineteen Russian peasants were attacked by a rabid wolf in Siberia. Dr. Pasteur paid for their expenses to Paris. With Dr. Pasteur’s serum, only three died. For his efforts, the Czar of Russia, Alexander II, awarded Pasteur the diamond cross of St. Anne. The Czar also gave him 100,000 francs to help build the Pasteur Institute in Paris. There is a network today of thirty-three Pasteur Institutes around the globe sharing discoveries for the good of all. I had the pleasure of seeing the Institute in Paris and the modest home where Pasteur lived. I will never forget placing my hand upon this great man’s crypt.
Author Victoria Kamar Olivett
The Adventures of Francie Fitzgerald