The story of the serum run began on January 20, 1925. A child in Nome was diagnosed with diphtheria. What was initially thought to be a rash of tonsillitis exposed itself as a deadly and highly contagious disease. Three Inuit children in a nearby village had already died undiagnosed. A radio telegram was sent from Nome in a desperate search for the needed serum. The town's only supply of anti-toxin was seven years old, and the attending doctor feared that its use would exacerbate the illness. The following day, the boy in Nome died and another child was found to have contracted diphtheria; although treated with the expired antitoxin, she died later in the day. An emergency town council meeting was held, during which a city-wide quarantine was instituted. The doctor needed one million units of the serum to combat an epidemic. | Source: Library of CongressDownload Original File
