From septicemia to sepsis 3.0 – from Ignaz Semmelweis to Louis Pasteur

Sepsis remains a contemporary threat, and its frequency remains high amongst an aging population. Its definition has been regularly revisited, but the impact of the translational research studying it remains very modest compared to the results seen after the introduction of hygiene and the use of antibiotics. In the past, the main forms of sepsis were hospital gangrene (also known as nosocomial fever or putrid fever) that affected the wounded, and puerperal fever that affected women shortly after delivery. In 1858, Armand Trousseau stated that these two pathologies were identical. Lucrezia Borgia, who died in 1519, is undoubtedly the most famous woman to die from puerperal fever. The notion of sepsis as a real epidemic was deplored. For decades doctors remained deaf to the recommendations of their clairvoyant colleagues who advocated for the use of hygienic measures. It was as early as 1795 that Alexander Gordon (UK) and later in 1843, Oliver Holmes (USA), called for the use of hygienic practices. In 1847, Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician, provided an irrefutable demonstration of the importance of hygiene in the prevention of contamination by the hands of the practitioners. But Ignaz Semmelweis' life was a tragedy, his fight against the medical nomenklatura was a tragedy, and his death was a tragedy! Nowadays, Ignaz Semmelweis is receiving the honor that he deserves, but never received during his life. Carl Mayrhofer, Victor Feltz, and Léon Coze were the first to associate the presence of bacteria with sepsis. These observations were confirmed by Louis Pasteur who, thanks to his prestige, had a great influence on how to undertake measures to prevent infections. He inspired Joseph Lister who reduced mortality associated with surgery, particularly amputation, by utilizing antiseptic methods.     

The study of lysogeny at the Pasteur Institute (1950–1960): an epistemologically open system

Many historical studies have been devoted to the French school of molecular biology, in particular to the work of Jacques Monod on adaptive enzymes. By focusing on François Jacob’s studies on lysogeny between 1950 and 1960, we intend to redress the imbalance of historiography, as well as proposing a more fruitful point of view for understanding the relative importance of international contacts and local traditions in the genesis of the operon model.Elie Wollman and Jacob’s work on temperate bacteriophages rendered respectable a system that had been considered an artefact for more than two decades. They did this firstly by modelling their studies on those of the US phage group and secondly by basing these studies on a complex vision of the relations between bacteria and bacteriophages. The interaction between bacteria and temperate bacteriophages was considered ab initio as a biochemical process, the mechanisms of which would eventually be characterized. It was also considered as a “normal” phenomenon that could be used as a model to understand the process of differentiation, as well as the role of viruses in diseases and cancer. The temperate bacteriophage was a model system that was far more epistemologically open and, for this reason, in a sense more productive than the virulent phage studied by the US phage group.     

Sanofi Pasteur公司宣布H5N1型禽流感疫苗临床试验的初期结果，确认高免疫诱导效果

法国Sanofi Pasteur公司于2005年12月14日公布了有关H5N1型禽流感候选疫苗在法国进行临床试验的初期解析结果，称在许多志愿者身上确认了高的免疫诱导效果。此次的临床试验是就H5N1型禽流感大流行（Pandemic）之前的疫苗制剂来比较有无佐剂（Adjuvant）的首次临床试验。     

Consultative meeting to develop a strategy for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Institute Pasteur,Paris. 13–15 June, 2006

Background  

A meeting was organized by Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and the Institute Pasteur (IP), Paris, to review the treatment for all forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and to propose a strategy for the development of new efficacious and affordable treatments.     

The effectiveness of using the Vaxigrip vaccine from the firm of Pasteur Mérieux Connaught for influenza prevention in organized groups of adults

The results of the study of the effectiveness of using vaccine Vaxigrip for the prophylaxis of influenza in organized groups of adults are presented. The vaccine was found to have high epidemiological effectiveness (the epidemiological index was 2.6), moderate reactogenicity and pronounced immunological activity (the protection level was 89.0-100.0%). The vaccine may be recommended for the prophylaxis of influenza among adults.     

The results of the registration clinical trials of the Act-Hib vaccine manufactured by the firm of Pasteur Mérieux Connaught, France]

The results of the field trials of the vaccine "Act-Hib" against Haemophilus influenzae of type b, presented for registration by Pasteur Mérieux Connaught (France), are summarized. The vaccine was found to have low reactogenicity and high immunological effectiveness. A single injection of the vaccine induced the formation of the protective level of anti-PRP antibodies in 94% of the immunized children aged 1-4 years. After immunization the mean geometric titers of specific antibodies increased sixfold in comparison with the initial level and were equal to 3.4 mu/ml. On the basis of the data of laboratory control and field clinical trials the vaccine "Act-Hib" was registered in the Russian Federation and permission and its practical use in the public health service of the country was permitted.     

Vampires,Pasteur and reactive oxygen species. Is the switch from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism a preventive antioxidant defence in blood-feeding parasites?

Several species of parasites show a reduction of their respiratory activity along their developmental cycles after they start to feed on vertebrate blood, relying on anaerobic degradation of carbohydrates to achieve their energy requirements. Usually, these parasites choose not to breathe despite of living in an environment of high oxygen availability such as vertebrate blood. Absence of the 'Pasteur effect' in most of these parasites has been well documented. Interestingly, together with the switch from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism in these parasites, there is clear evidence pointing to an increase in their antioxidant defences. As the respiratory chain in mitochondria is a major site of production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we propose here that the arrest of respiration constitutes an adaptation to avoid the toxic effects of ROS. This situation would be especially critical for blood-feeding parasites because ROS produced in mitochondria would interact with pro-oxidant products of blood digestion, such as haem and/or iron, and increase the oxidative damage to the parasite's cells.     

When did Louis Pasteur present his memoir on the discovery of molecular chirality to the Académie des sciences? Analysis of a discrepancy

Louis Pasteur presented his historic memoir on the discovery of molecular chirality to the Académie des sciences in Paris on May 22nd, 1848. The literature, however, nearly completely ignores this date, widely claiming instead May 15th, 1848, which first surfaced in 1922 in Pasteur's collected works edited by his grandson Louis Pasteur Vallery-Radot. On May 21st, 1848, i.e., one day before Pasteur's presentation in Paris, his mother died in Arbois, eastern France. Informed at an unknown point in time that she was "very ill," Pasteur left for Arbois only after his presentation. Biographies of Pasteur by his son-in-law René Vallery-Radot or the grandson, and Pasteur's collected correspondence edited by the grandson are incomprehensibly laconic or silent about the historic presentation. While no definite conclusions are possible, the evidence strongly suggests a deliberate alteration of the record by the biographer relatives, presumably for fear of adverse public judgment of Pasteur for a real or perceived insensitivity to a grave family medical emergency. Such fear would have been in accord with their hagiographic portrayal of Pasteur, and the findings raise questions concerning the extent of their zeal in protecting his "demigod" image. Universal recognition of the true date of Pasteur's announcement of molecular chirality is long overdue.