C8 - Further Impact of Germ Theory In Britain Flashcards
Who was Robert Koch?
A German doctor who applied Pasteur’s Germ Theory to human diseases. He was the founder on bacteriology. His work went against the view that most germs were very similar.
Which microbes did Koch discover and when?
- he identified the microbe responsible for anthrax in 1876
- he identified the deadly cholera germ in 1884
- he identified tuberculosis germs in 1882
What were Koch’s methods?
- he proved that specific bacteria were responsible for a specific disease by injecting and retrieving the bacterium from successive experimental animals
- he improved the growing of microbes on solid agar (a seaweed extract)
- he discovered stains to dye specific microbes so they stood out under a microscope
- he perfected a lens to photograph microbes, allowing other scientists to recognise them
- Koch’s team helped to train many young scientists to use his methods
What was the effect of the acceptance of Germ Theory in Britain?
- microscope research was conducted into the life cycle of germs by scientists William Dallinger and John Drysdale in 1874
- Tyndall lectured British doctors on Koch’s discoveries
- Dr William Roberts developed a medical version of the Germ Theory of disease
- in 1879, the surgeon Willian Cheyne translated Koch’s work and explained how the microbes present in wounds did not always produce disease
How did war influence the development of vaccines?
France and Germany wee rivals because France had lost a war against Germany in 1871.
How did government and finance effect the development of vaccines?
Both Pasteur and Koch had a laboratory and a scientific team paid for by their governments.
How did teamwork effect the development of vaccines?
Between 1880 and 1884, Pasteur and his team developed a vaccine for rabies - in 1885 they proved it worked on humans as well as animals by saving a young boy.
How did communication affect the development of vaccines?
Pasteur’s vaccine against anthrax was demonstrated publicly to an audience of politicians, farmers and journalists in France in May 1881. News of it spread by electric telegraph.
How did luck affect the development of vaccines?
In 1879, the accidental use of weakened chicken cholera germs gave the chickens immunity when injected with fresh strong germs. Pasteur had inadvertently shown how vaccines could give immunity and prevent disease.
How did competition affect the development of vaccines?
From 1888 to 1890, there was a research rivalry over diphtheria. One of Pasteur’s scientists, Pierre Roux, showed that the diphtheria germ produced a toxin. In 1890, Emil Behring, one of Koch’s students, shows that weakened diphtheria germs could produce an antitoxin.
How did individual character affect the development of vaccines?
Pasteur was a determined scientist despite suffering stroke and losing his daughter to typhoid. Between 1876 and 1881, Pasteur was motivated by Koch’s success identifying anthrax.
What was the impact of Pasteur and Koch’s work in Britain?
- they encouraged a new generation of scientists to study deadly diseases and to find ways of preventing them
- Lister used the diphtheria antitoxin in Britain and by 1905 the death rate was halved
- by the 1880s, British doctors accepted Germ Theory but deep inside the body they couldn’t use intense heat or antiseptics
- however, scientists found chemicals that attacked specific germs. In 1909, Paul Ehrlich (a former member of Koch’s team) developed the first chemical cure for a disease, Salvarsan 606, which cured syphilis
