In January 1925, a deadly outbreak of diphtheria reached Nome, Alaska. Dog teams answered it with a relay of 674 miles through a blizzard. It began with Dr. Curtis Welch, the only physician in town. On January 20 he examined a three-year-old boy he first took for having tonsillitis. Then he saw the gray, leathery membrane in the boy's throat, and he knew. Diphtheria was called the strangler of children. The boy and a seven-year-old girl died soon after. Welch feared that, without antitoxin, the outbreak could kill nearly everyone it reached, and Nome held about 1,400 people. Welch had a small supply of antitoxin, but it was expired. The harbor was frozen shut for winter. Could new medicine reach Nome before the disease spread beyond his control?
The 1925 Serum Run: Togo and Balto
Dog teams relayed diphtheria serum 674 miles to Nome in 127.5 hours in 1925, led in turn by Togo and Balto.
The Strangler Reaches Nome
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the 1925 serum run to Nome?
It was a relay of about 20 dog sled teams that carried diphtheria antitoxin 674 miles from Nenana to Nome, Alaska. It took 127.5 hours. The serum stopped an outbreak in a town cut off by ice and winter weather.
Why did dogs carry the serum instead of airplanes?
Alaska's biplanes had been taken apart for winter and could not be restarted in the sub-arctic cold. The harbor at Nome was frozen shut. The old mail trail was the only way in, so Governor Scott Bone approved a dog team relay.
Which dog deserved more credit, Togo or Balto?
Balto became the famous one and has a statue in New York's Central Park. Leonhard Seppala said that if any dog deserved special mention, it was Togo. Togo's team ran 261 miles, double the distance of any other team in the relay.
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