History of Vaccines and Vaccination. Part III. Rabies and tuberculosis

The article describes the historical stages of creating vaccines against two of the most dangerous diseases, which, after the discovery of the microbial theory, were devoted to the efforts of scientists ― rabies and tuberculosis. The lecture describes the main achievements of L. Pasteur and the stages of the creation of a rabies vaccine by him and his team, which became the crown of his scientific career and triggered the development of various areas of vaccinology. Close cooperation in this area of physicians and veterinarians and the outstanding role of Pasteur is shown. The current trends and successes of fighting this deadly disease are indicated. The stages of the development of vaccines against tuberculosis based on the discoveries of R. Koch and his followers are also presented. The successes of combating animal tuberculosis based on the creation of tuberculin for diagnosing the disease, successes in preventing tuberculosis in humans with the use of BCG vaccine after many years of work on its creation, and historical stages of eliminating animal tuberculosis in a number of countries over the 20th century are noted. Attempts to use BCG vaccine in veterinary medicine, by analogy with medical practice, and issues related to the rejection of mass vaccination of cattle are discussed.