Hello, Members of the List. In a couple weeks or so, the Iditarod race begins again in Alaska. Something bothers me, though, about the event which this, the Last Great Race, commemorates. Maybe a List member can resolve it.
The Iditarod commemorates the delivery of diphtheria antitoxin to Nome in 1924 (1925?) by dogsled when Nome was cut off from ocean-going vessels and the mailplane was dismantled for the season. Diphtheria is always on the list of diseases that CS can successfully treat. The 1920s were the heyday of CS. Why couldn't the public health officials in Juneau have instructed the folks in Nome to make CS and save themselves? Weren't radio and telegraph available? Matthew
