The Heroes of the Alaskan Serum Run
In January 1925, the town of Nome, Alaska suffered an outbreak of the infectious disease diphtheria.
Even at that time, diphtheria could be treated with an antitoxin—that is, medicine that stops the illness from poisoning the body.
However, Nome’s remote location meant that the nearest anti-toxin supply was 1,100 kilometers away in Nenana, Alaska.
People feared that, without this life-saving serum, the disease would spread and become a deadly epidemic.
The only way to transport the anti-toxin to Nome was via sleds pulled by dogs.
In a brave journey known as the 1925 Serum Run, teams of trained canines battled blizzards and dangerous cold to deliver the medicine, undamaged, in 127.5 hours—a record-setting feat.
The lead dogs, named Togo and Balto, are warmly remembered as heroes.
Today, Balto’s preserved body is displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and a bronze Balto statue also stands in New York’s Central Park.