Posted on October 23, 2001 at 2:50 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — They are signed with a distinctive “L. Pasteur.” Seventeen letters written by French scientist Louis Pasteur to one of his assistants detailing efforts to develop the vaccine for anthrax are in the possession of the Reynolds Historical Library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The letters are part of a long correspondence between Pasteur, credited with developing the first vaccine for anthrax, and his disciple Louis Thuillier. In 1881, Pasteur announced the first successful anthrax vaccinations in experimental animals. Throughout 1882 and 1883, Pasteur dispatched Thuillier to Germany and Austria-Hungary to further the research and build public support for this new science of vaccination. Anthrax was decimating livestock herds throughout Europe and the microbe responsible for the disease had been isolated in 1876.

The Pasteur-Thuillier letters were in the collection of Dr. Lawrence Reynolds, an Alabama native who donated his extensive library of rare medical writings to the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1958. The collection forms the basis of the Reynolds Historical Library. In addition, the library holds a copy of Correspondence of Pasteur and Thuillier, Concerning Anthrax and Swine Fever Vaccinations, published in 1968 by the University of Alabama Press, containing English translations of 60 letters between Pasteur, Thuillier and other collaborators written between 1881 and 1887. The 17 original letters in the Reynolds collection are included in the book.

“The letters offer a fascinating look at the science of the late 19th century and the activities of one of the world’s greatest scientists,” says Michael Flannery, associate director of Historical Collections for the Reynolds Library. “They also show Pasteur’s human side; his love for his family, his trust in his assistants and his intense rivalry with competing scientists.”

In the time period covered by the letters, Thuillier conducted a series of vaccinations against anthrax in sheep and cattle in Germany and Austria-Hungary. It is believed that Pasteur intended to conduct the vaccinations himself, but was constrained by other responsibilities from doing the job in person. Relying on Thuillier as a surrogate prompted a steady stream of letters between protégé and mentor, detailing the successes, failures and obstacles faced in the project.

Pasteur’s discovery that most infectious diseases are caused by germs, known as the "germ theory of disease," is one of the most important in medical history. His work became the foundation for the science of microbiology and a cornerstone of modern medicine. His discovery of the role of microbes in fermentation led to the development of pasteurization. He also discovered that weakened forms of a microbe could be used as an immunization against more virulent forms of the microbe, leading to the development of vaccines for rabies, anthrax, chicken cholera and silkworm diseases.

Tragically, the relationship between Pasteur and Thuillier ended just over a month after the completion of the vaccination tests in Germany. As that project ended, Pasteur sent Thuillier with three other scientists to study a cholera epidemic in Egypt. Thuillier became ill, most likely from cholera and died on September 18, 1883 at age 27.