Rabies Timeline – Part Two

June 10, 1671 – The Sorbonne in France condemns superstitious practices in the treatment of rabies.

1703 – The first report of rabies in the Americas occurs when a priest in Mexico reports a case to his superiors.

1708 – The first officially documented outbreak of rabies in dogs occurs in Italy.

1709 – Father LeBrun publishes a history of superstitious customs and writes that people who have been “cured” of rabies through these practices or through so-called miracles either did not have rabies to begin with or beat the disease solely through the strength of their constitution.

November 10, 1750 – A correspondent from Charles Town, South America writes of the first cases of rabies in that colony: “Since the commencement of this year, a kind of madness hath appeared among the dogs in the country, so that most of them have been killed; and lately some have been mad in this town … as soon as their madness appears they attack every dog they see, which are, within a few hours after being bit, in the same condition.”

1753 – Rabies is introduced to the West for the first time when dogs in Virginia come down with rabies.

1885 – Louis Pasteur tries his first post-exposure treatments.

19th Century – Rabies is considered a scourge for its prevalence during this period.