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'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain

Michael Bresalier Orcid Logo, Michael Worboys

British Journal of the History of Science, Volume: 47, Issue: 2, Pages: 305 - 334

Swansea University Author: Michael Bresalier Orcid Logo

DOI (Published version): 10.1017/S0007087413000344

Abstract

This paper examines the successful campaign in Britain to develop canine distemper vaccine between 1922 and 1933. The campaign mobilized disparate groups around the com- mon cause of using modern science to save the nation’s dogs from a deadly disease. Spearheaded by landed patricians associated wit...

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Published in: British Journal of the History of Science
Published: 2014
Online Access: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=6&fid=9249639&jid=BJH&volumeId=47&issueId=02&aid=9249638&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0007087413000344
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa27781
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spelling 2020-11-10T20:40:49.5920498 v2 27781 2016-05-10 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain e0e22c7c5669800c4a2e3b6ccdf79808 0000-0003-1185-8574 Michael Bresalier Michael Bresalier true false 2016-05-10 AHIS This paper examines the successful campaign in Britain to develop canine distemper vaccine between 1922 and 1933. The campaign mobilized disparate groups around the com- mon cause of using modern science to save the nation’s dogs from a deadly disease. Spearheaded by landed patricians associated with the country journal The Field, and funded by dog owners and associations, it relied on collaborations with veterinary professionals, government scientists, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the commercial pharma- ceutical house the Burroughs Wellcome Company (BWC). The social organization of the campaign reveals a number of important, yet previously unexplored, features of interwar science and medicine in Britain. It depended on a patronage system that drew upon a large base of influential benefactors and public subscriptions. Coordinated by the Field Distemper Fund, this system was characterized by close relationships between landed elites and their social networks with senior science administrators and researchers. Relations between experts and non-experts were crucial, with high levels of public engagement in all aspects of research and vaccine development. At the same time, experimental and commercial research supported under the campaign saw dynamic interactions between animal and human medicine, which shaped the organization of the MRC’s research programme and demonstrated the value of close collaboration between veterinary and medical science, with the dog as a shared object and resource. Finally, the campaign made possible the translation of ‘laboratory’ findings into field conditions and commercial products. Rather than a unidirectional process, translation involved negotiations over the very boundaries of the ‘laboratory’ and the ‘field’, and what constituted a viable vaccine. This paper suggests that historians reconsider standard historical accounts of the nature of patronage, the role of animals, and the interests of landed elites in interwar British science and medicine. Journal Article British Journal of the History of Science 47 2 305 334 History of modern medicine; vaccines; Medical Research Council; animal history; modern British history; pharmaceutical industry 5 6 2014 2014-06-05 10.1017/S0007087413000344 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=6&amp;fid=9249639&amp;jid=BJH&amp;volumeId=47&amp;issueId=02&amp;aid=9249638&amp;fulltextType=RA&amp;fileId=S0007087413000344 COLLEGE NANME History COLLEGE CODE AHIS Swansea University 2020-11-10T20:40:49.5920498 2016-05-10T09:56:16.3674910 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - History Michael Bresalier 0000-0003-1185-8574 1 Michael Worboys 2 0027781-10052016100859.pdf Savingthelivesofourdogs.pdf 2016-05-10T10:08:59.7270000 Output 893102 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true 2016-05-10T00:00:00.0000000 false
title 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain
spellingShingle 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain
Michael Bresalier
title_short 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain
title_full 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain
title_fullStr 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain
title_full_unstemmed 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain
title_sort 'Saving the lives of our dogs': the development of canine distemper vaccine in interwar Britain
author_id_str_mv e0e22c7c5669800c4a2e3b6ccdf79808
author_id_fullname_str_mv e0e22c7c5669800c4a2e3b6ccdf79808_***_Michael Bresalier
author Michael Bresalier
author2 Michael Bresalier
Michael Worboys
format Journal article
container_title British Journal of the History of Science
container_volume 47
container_issue 2
container_start_page 305
publishDate 2014
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.1017/S0007087413000344
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - History{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - History
url http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=6&amp;fid=9249639&amp;jid=BJH&amp;volumeId=47&amp;issueId=02&amp;aid=9249638&amp;fulltextType=RA&amp;fileId=S0007087413000344
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description This paper examines the successful campaign in Britain to develop canine distemper vaccine between 1922 and 1933. The campaign mobilized disparate groups around the com- mon cause of using modern science to save the nation’s dogs from a deadly disease. Spearheaded by landed patricians associated with the country journal The Field, and funded by dog owners and associations, it relied on collaborations with veterinary professionals, government scientists, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the commercial pharma- ceutical house the Burroughs Wellcome Company (BWC). The social organization of the campaign reveals a number of important, yet previously unexplored, features of interwar science and medicine in Britain. It depended on a patronage system that drew upon a large base of influential benefactors and public subscriptions. Coordinated by the Field Distemper Fund, this system was characterized by close relationships between landed elites and their social networks with senior science administrators and researchers. Relations between experts and non-experts were crucial, with high levels of public engagement in all aspects of research and vaccine development. At the same time, experimental and commercial research supported under the campaign saw dynamic interactions between animal and human medicine, which shaped the organization of the MRC’s research programme and demonstrated the value of close collaboration between veterinary and medical science, with the dog as a shared object and resource. Finally, the campaign made possible the translation of ‘laboratory’ findings into field conditions and commercial products. Rather than a unidirectional process, translation involved negotiations over the very boundaries of the ‘laboratory’ and the ‘field’, and what constituted a viable vaccine. This paper suggests that historians reconsider standard historical accounts of the nature of patronage, the role of animals, and the interests of landed elites in interwar British science and medicine.
published_date 2014-06-05T03:33:45Z
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