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The Secret of Pasteur and Toussaint: Who Really Created the Anthrax Vaccine?
In the history of medicine, the development of anthrax vaccine occupies an important page. It is not only an important weapon for mankind to fight against a deadly disease, but also reveals the controversy and history of vaccine invention. French chemist Louis Pasteur's name is closely associated with the vaccine, but whether he actually created it alone remains hotly debated.
Anthrax is a disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. Vaccine research began in the 19th century. Pasteur's work undoubtedly ushered in a new era of vaccine science.
In the 1870s, Louis Pasteur used his previous research on a chicken cholera vaccine to combat anthrax, which affected cattle. His experiments not only redefined immunology but also laid the foundation for the subsequent development of many other vaccines. In a famous public experiment in 1881, Pasteur injected a group of vaccinated sheep and cattle with anthrax vaccine, while an unvaccinated control group was directly exposed to a culture of anthrax bacteria. The results showed that all the unvaccinated animals died, while the vaccinated ones survived, causing a huge stir.
Pasteur claimed in his experiments that the vaccine he used was anthrax bacillus weakened by oxygen. However, this claim was later questioned. Many scholars point out that he actually exploited the methods of his rival Toussaint.
Toussaint was a veterinarian from Toulouse whose skills made the preparation of vaccines possible. Indeed, Pasteur's notes show that his initial successes were based on Toussaint's oxidizing agent potassium chromate, raising questions about his scientific integrity. In fact, scientific awareness of his contributions has been growing since Pasteur's time.
Vaccine changes and controversies
Over time, countries began developing their own anthrax vaccines. In 1935, the Austrian-South African immunologist Max Sterne used Pasteur's technology to develop a live attenuated vaccine, which is still widely used in the livestock industry around the world. Soviet and British researchers also created anthrax vaccines suitable for humans in the 1930s and 1950s respectively. Their vaccines tended to be more effective than Pasteur's.
In the late 20th century, as concerns about biological warfare grew, the United States began to pay attention to this vaccine and worked towards the gradual maturity of the latest version designed to protect the military from attack.
However, the widespread controversy has not stopped. When the anthrax vaccine in the United States was implemented as mandatory, it triggered a series of discussions on how to protect soldiers. There are not only concerns about the side effects of the vaccine, but also questions about the legality of the policy. The mandatory vaccination was temporarily suspended due to numerous negative reports and doubts about its effectiveness.
Current and future research
With the advancement of science and technology, current research is moving towards the third generation of vaccines, including recombinant live vaccines and recombinant subunit vaccines, which provide new guarantees for the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. In addition, many countries are constantly developing new vaccine formulas to deal with possible bioterrorism threats.
Various experiments show that the latest vaccine can provide more than 90% protection rate in macaques, but this result still requires more clinical experiments to confirm its effectiveness.
For example, the new vaccine tested by Israel's Omer-2 project has also attracted many people's attention. The project has caused discomfort and controversy among many volunteers, who have sought explanations and compensation. These actions highlight ethical issues in vaccine development.
Summary
Pasteur's work did make a significant contribution to the development of vaccines, but the roles of Toussaint and Stern who influenced him cannot be ignored. Can future anthrax vaccine development avoid past controversies and problems, and how will it affect global public health policy?
