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Laboratory of Hygiene
Joseph Kinyoun established one of the country's first bacteriological laboratories in the Marine Health Service Hospital on Staten Island, NY. He was director of the Laboratory of Hygiene, which moved to Washington, D.C., in 1891. Kinyoun brought the latest techniques such as the procedure for preparing diphtheria antitoxin back from his visits to Europe. -
Diphtheria Toxin is is Discovered
The diphtheria toxin was discovered by Emile Roux. Passive serum therapies were developed through the scientific contributions of many, including Emil Von Behring who developed the first effective therapeutic serum against diphtheria and Paul Ehrlich who developed enrichment and standardization protocol, which allowed for an exact determination of quality of the diphtheria antitoxins. -
Serum power
The transfer of blood from individuals who had recovered from an infectious disease to individuals with ongoing infection with the same pathogen was first described for tetanus and diphtheria; this approach is still used today as a first-line therapy against arising viral infections for which few or no treatments existed -
Cholera and typhoid vaccines were first developed
They were the first widely used vaccine that was made in a laboratory. It was a heat-killed vaccine made by Wilhelm Kolle. -
Plague vaccine was introduced
The plague vaccine was introduced, following the preparation of anti-plague horse serum at the Pasteur Institute by Alexandre Yersin. After demonstrating protection from disease in immunized animals, Yersin went to China with the vaccine to protect humans during a plague epidemic. -
Standardized unit for diphtheria antitoxin
Serum varies greatly in its content of antitoxin — and hence potency — between samples. Working at the Institute for Infectious Diseases in Berlin, Paul Ehrlich developed a standardized unit of diphtheria antitoxin allowing for more consistent treatment by physicians. -
Nobel Prize in Medicine
The first Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Emil von Behring for his work on the development of a diphtheria antitoxin (later known as antiserum). -
Biologics Control Act
. Efforts to ensure the purity of biological treatments by government oversight followed with the Biologics Control Act. It included the regulation of vaccine and antitoxin producers and required both licensing and inspections of manufacturers. The standards imposed by the 1902 Act resulted in bankruptcy for one-third of the companies manufacturing antitoxins and vaccines while benefiting the manufacturers already in compliance. -
Pure Food and Drugs Act
The Pure Food and Drugs Act was formed, prohibiting interstate commerce in misbranded and adulterated foods, drinks, and drugs. -
County Health Departments
The first county health departments in the U.S. were formed -
Tetanus toxoid
Tetanus toxoid was introduced following the development of an effective therapeutic serum against tetanus by Emil Von Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato. -
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Licensing of Vaccines
1914- The Typhoid vaccine and Rabies vaccine were first licensed in the U.S.
1915-Pertussis vaccine, a suspension of inactivated Bordetella pertussis cells, was licensed. Inactivated vaccines were prepared with a microorganism or virus that had been killed, usually with a chemical such as formaldehyde. -
The first vaccine for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis has been an infectious scourge throughout human history. Working in France, Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin developed their eponymous live attenuated vaccine for tuberculosis (BCG) and used it for the first time to protect at-risk infants. (It was live-attenuated Mycobacterium bovis.)