On 6 July 1885 young Joseph Meister was brought to Pasteur's laboratory. He had been savaged by a rabid dog and bitten 14 times. Death from rabies seemed certain, unless Pasteur would treat him with an untried and possibly lethal vaccine.

1890: Germany is host to an international congress of doctors. Pressure is on Koch, working on a cure for tuberculosis, to produce results to surpass the French success with rabies.

At the turn of the century two men, one in London, the other in Frankfurt, were embarking on research which each hoped would provide the cures so sorely needed. At the time it would have been impossible to say which would succeed.