07/26/07 Antitoxin horses

It has been said "A dog may be man's best friend...but the horse wrote history," and that is even true in the field of medicine. I'll be back after the break to tell you how a few horses in New York City saved the lives of thousands of young children. In the late 1800's diphtheria was one of the most common killers of children and 13 horses stabled at the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons wiped out the disease. Now tell them how, Becky. Starting in the late 1800's and for nearly 20 years horses became producers of diphtheria antitoxin. After being injected with the toxin the horses immune system would formulate a serum that was then purified to create antibodies to neutralize the germs' poison. In the majority of cases the horses suffered only minor loss of appetite, although throughout the years some with weaker immune systems gave their lives to disease. Even though the horse of the early 1900's was still considered a beast of burden their contribution warmed the hearts of people worldwide who dubbed them the "antitoxin horses" and in 1906 the horses were moved to a lush 175 acre farm. The only stipulation was that when companies phased out horse based diphtheria vaccines the retired horses be allowed to lives their lives out on the farm. These are just a few of the unsung heroes in horse history. I'm Jeff Keane.