In 1885, a boy by the name of Joseph Meister was bitten 14 times by a rabid dog, with life-threatening consequences. Dr. Jacques Joseph Grancher convinced Louis Pasteur and his colleagues to vaccinate the young man. This first human rabies vaccination was a resounding success.

Between the age of 55 and 65 Louis Pasteur developed microbiology, applying it to medicine and surgery. Having established that diseases were caused by microorganisms, he then sought to identify and find a means of fighting them. His finest accomplishment was rabies.

On November 7, 2023, the Grancher Foundation celebrated its 120th anniversary on the Institut Pasteur campus. The Foundation was established by Dr. Joseph Grancher. It was an opportunity for the Institut Pasteur's President to pay tribute to the physician best known for his work on tuberculosis – a disease that the Institut Pasteur continues to fight.

Although rabies control has progressed considerably since Louis Pasteur first trialed his vaccine, the disease continues to kill thousands of people who do not have access to treatment. Scientists have traced the evolution of the disease worldwide over different eras in a bid to improve our understanding of and preparedness for emerging infectious diseases.

On June 4, 1887, the Institut Pasteur was created following the success of the rabies vaccine developed by Louis Pasteur – and thanks to the generous support of countless donors. Just set up as an institution with official charitable status, the building work began straight away."This is the start of post-exposure rabies prophylaxis. (...) A rabies vaccine center should be set up," declared Louis...