Koch's Postulates: Robert Koch Demonstrates That a Particular Organism Causes a Particular Disease | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Koch's Postulates: Robert Koch Demonstrates That a Particular Organism Causes a Particular Disease

Overview

Robert Koch was the first scientist to firmly establish the link between germs and disease. A doctor with a small rural practice in Germany, Koch's interest in microscopic studies led him eventually to identify the bacteria that causes the disease anthrax, which was then a common killer of sheep and cows and occasionally farmers. From there, Koch worked to develop the means by which he could prove without a doubt that these organisms were indeed to blame, the basic steps of which are now known as Koch's postulates. According to these postulates, or rules, a microbe may be proved as the cause of a disease if and only if:

• 1) It is found in all cases of the disease.
• 2) It may be isolated from the diseased body and grown artificially in a laboratory setting, creating what is called a pure culture.
• 3) The cultured bacteria can then be injected into a healthy animal and cause the same disease to appear in it.
• 4) The same bacteria can then be again found in and isolated from the newly infected lab animal.

Koch's work on anthrax was published in 1876 and touched off a revolution in medical knowledge.

Koch's Postulates: Robert Koch Demonstrates That a Particular Organism Causes a Particular Disease article

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