Samiul Haque

Hunter College
Freshman
12/5/13

Max Theiler was a South African American doctor and virologist. In 1951, he received
the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing the 17D strain of the yellow fever
virus. This was a remarkable discovery as this strain was then used to create the vaccine needed
to combat this fatal and devastating disease. It is estimated that this disease is responsible for
200,000 illnesses and 30,000 deaths annually according to The World Health Organization in
unvaccinated populations.1
In order to understand just how profound this discovery was, we must first understand the
human bodys defenses against infectious diseases and how it deals with intruders such as
bacteria or viruses. Our very first layer of defense is our skin. It is a tough physical barrier that
protects us by preventing pathogens from entering. In addition to simply physically preventing
pathogens from entering, our skin surface is also slightly acidic preventing pathogens from
having an environment to grow in. Then, we have mucous membranes in moist areas of our
bodies like in the nose, trachea, urethra, and vagina. These areas are lined with mucus which trap
pathogens which are then expelled out from our bodies. They also contain enzymes which digest
pathogens. Although we have these initial layers of protection, pathogens can still get into our
systems. Once a pathogen enters our body tissue or blood, we have a plethora of phagocytic
leukocytes which ingest the pathogens and break them down with the lysosomes found within
1

"Yellow Fever." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.

the phagocytes. One might ask how phagocytes are able to recognize and find the pathogens.
This is due to antigens, which are foreign substances which are present on the surface of the
pathogens. We have cells called lymphocytes which are responsible for producing antibodies in
response to these antigens. Each lymphocyte can only produce one type of antibody. The
antibodies are found on the surface of the lymphocyte. When a lymphocyte comes into contact
with an antigen, an antibody binds to an antigen. The lymphocyte then is able to produce that
specific antibody which detects that specific antigen. Once this happens, the lymphocyte makes
copies of itself which produce more of the antibodies specific to that antigen and at the same
time, creates memory cells which remain in the blood for a very long period of time.2 The
purpose of the memory cells is to allow the body to respond much more quickly to a pathogen it
already came into contact with. This is possible due to the fact that it already has the antibodies
to detect that specific antigen. So it is coined as being immune to that organism or disease as
the body would be able to eliminate the same pathogen immediately.
It is important to know this in order to understand how vaccines function. Vaccines take
advantage of the human bodys ability to remember a pathogen by introducing ones immune
system to a killed or greatly weakened state of the pathogen that causes infection. This is so that
your body will already have an immunity to that pathogen if it happens to be encountered in
the future. So how does this relate to Max Theiler and his development of the 17D strain of the
yellow fever?
When introducing the body to the pathogen, scientists have to make sure it is weakened
enough to not make the person sick and actually get infected by it but also make sure it is
effective in producing antibodies. This was one of the greatest obstacles that needed to be
2

"IB Guides." IB Biology Notes. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.

overcome when developing the vaccine for yellow fever. Yellow fever is a viral infection
transmitted from the bite of an infected mosquito. A person infected with this disease can suffer
potentially fatal liver and other internal organ damage3. It was very difficult to get the disease in
a state where it had no negative impact on the host. Theiler won the Nobel Prize for doing just
that. It is, however, much easier said than done. Theiler had to do copious amounts of testing and
until he finally came to the safe yet effective 17D strain of the virus which is used in the vaccine.
The viral nature of the agent was confirmed by the Rockefeller Foundation in Nigeria in 1927 by
showing that monkeys could be infected with the virus from humans who had the disease.4
Theiler was responsible for testing the French strain of the virus, or the strain that was isolated
from monkeys by Andrew Watson Sellards and his colleagues in West Africa, in the brains of
mice.5 This in itself was revolutionary as mice were much cheaper and easier to test on compared
to monkeys. Theiler first discovered that repeated passages on mice, the process of infecting new
mice with the same strain of the virus that was used to infect the previous mouse, reduced the
incubation period progressively as well as a progressive decline in its ability to cause disease in
monkeys. He was also successfully able to measure the antibodies present in the mice through a
test which later which was also later used to detect the presence of antibodies in humans.6
Theilers next step was to weaken the virus to a state where it would be safe and effective.
Passing the virus from mice was not enough to weaken the virus completely as it only took away
its ability to target the abdominal organs and as a result, increased the virus capacity to attack
3

"Yellow Fever: Symptoms and Treatment." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.

Stokes, A., J.H. Bauer, and N.P. Hudson. 1928. Transmission of yellow fever to Macacas
rhesus, preliminary note. JAMA. 90:253254.
5

Theiler, M. 1930. Studies on the action of yellow fever virus in mice. Ann. Trop. Med. Parasit. 24:249
272.
6
Theiler, M. 1933. A yellow fever protection test in mice by intracerebral injection. Am. Trop. Med.
Parasit. 25:5777.

the brain. The usage of lower doses also failed.7 For the next few years, Max and his co-scientists
passed different strains of the virus with different properties hundreds of times through different
tissue cultures. He was only successful when he used the first ever isolated form of the virus,
from a survivor of the disease named Asibi, was passed many times through minced chicken
embryos. When he reached between the 84th and 114th passage, he finally came across a strain
of the virus that lacked both the damaging effects of the virus to the abdominal organs as well as
the brain and nervous system. This is the strain which is known as the 17D strain which is still
used in todays yellow fever vaccines.8
This is incredibly significant as it shows us the amount of work that goes into develop a
vaccine. These vaccines are reportedly the most effective tool for disease prevention across the
world, saving tens of thousands of lives each year. They are responsible for suppressing and
controlling various diseases that were once common and flourishing in the United States as well
as other parts of the world, such as polio, measles, influenza, mumps, rubella and smallpox,
which through the usage of vaccines, was completely eradicated. Even now, yellow fever only
affects populations that are unvaccinated, which just comes to show why Max Theiler deserved
the Nobel Prize for his discoveries.

Theiler, M., and L. Whitman. 1935. Quantitative studies of the virus and immune serum used in
vaccination against yellow fever. Am. J. Trop. Med. 15:347356.
8
WHO. 2003. Yellow fever vaccine: WHO position paper. Wkly. Epidemiol. Rec. 78:349360.