Louis Pasteur successfully vaccinated dogs against rabies in 1884, before his team tested the treatment on humans. On February 25, 1884, Pasteur, Émile Roux, and Charles Chamberland reported their rabies experiments to the French Academy of Sciences.
Their method involved using infected nervous tissue and weakening its disease-causing power through controlled drying. Dogs received preparations of increasing strength and survived later exposure to rabies. These animal results gave Pasteur confidence that immunity could be created before the infection reached the brain, while also showing why human testing required exceptional caution.
The landmark human step came the following year. On July 6, 1885, nine-year-old Joseph Meister became the first person treated with Pasteur’s rabies vaccine after being mauled by a rabid dog. Jean-Baptiste Jupille followed as the second human patient. Thus, 1884 refers to the successful dog experiments and public announcement; 1885 refers to the first human treatment.