A REMEDY used to treat dog bite victims on the streets of Manchester in the Victorian era has been rediscovered by historians.
The city streets were once teeming with stray dogs - and one bite from a rabid animal could end in fatal illness.
A number of home-spun remedies were in widespread use throughout Britain before an effective vaccine was created by French scientist Louis Pasteur.
Science historians at the University of Manchester have now uncovered the recipe for one such treatment - known as the Ormskirk Medicine after the town from where it originated - and believe it shows surprising sophistication.
Although the mixture of clay and aniseed would not treat the deadly virus, scientists found it would have been effective at fighting further infection.
Around a fifth of all rabies deaths during the 19th century were recorded in Lancashire.
Dr Emm Barnes, from the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, said: "The medicine would not have cured or prevented rabies but it shows quite a sophisticated knowledge of medicine and would have helped treat the wound. The active ingredients in the medicine were aniseed which is a mild antiseptic and a herb called horseheal which is still used by vets today, as well as alum which helps blood clot.
"The mixture would be mixed with vinegar, which is also an antiseptic, and soaked on bandages which would be applied to the skin.
"Pasteur's new treatment was controversial because it was only the second vaccine ever invented. People still used the Ormskirk Medicine for quite a few years afterwards until it became clear that the vaccine was preventing rabies."
Scientists at the centre, who found the medicine's recipe in the archives, provided demonstrations of the old-fashioned treatment during the Manchester Science Festival. They also showed what dog bites would have looked like with the help of a make-up artist.
The disease causes fatal brain damage to humans and animals. Pasteur and Emile Roux developed a vaccine in 1885 which helped eradicate the illness in the UK by the early 20th century.