In January of 1925, in the Alaska village of Nome, pop. 1,400, Dr. Curtis Welch, the only doctor around, had witnessed several children die of diphtheria and feared an epidemic could put the entire village at risk. He ordered a quarantine, but knew that only an antitoxin serum could prevent the fast-spreading disease — and he had no fresh antitoxin on hand.
The only serum that could stop the outbreak was more than a thousand miles away in Anchorage. The engine of the only aircraft that could quickly deliver the medicine was frozen and would not start, and Nome’s ice-choked harbor made sea transport impossible.
The solution? The famous Nenana-to-Nome dog sled run of antitoxin to treat the sick children. The journey of 20 teams of mushers and sled dogs transfixed the country. The mushers battled near record low temperatures along the way, and they had to stop periodically to warm the serum. Many dogs died during the trip. Several of the mushers suffered frostbite.
