Causes and Treatments

Beliefs About Causes and Treatments of Disease

LOUIS PASTEUR

1850s French chemist, Louis Pasteur, investigated problem of liquids turning sour in brewing industry
Powerful microscopes meant Pasteur could observe the growth of small organisms
Discovered heating liquid killed bacteria & stopped liquid going sour
1861 – Pasteur published his germ theory – showed microbes in air caused decay
PROVED OLD THEORIES WRONG ONCE AND FOR ALL – no more four humours
Led to improved understanding of WHAT caused disease BUT treatments took time because needed to identify microbe responsible for each separate disease
Breakthrough in knowledge & understanding but impact slow – some doctors still recommended old ideas such as bloodletting

ROBERT KOCH

1875 – Read Pasteur’s work investigated which bacteria were linked to specific diseases
Worked with a team of scientists and was funded by the German government
1877 – identified microbes that caused the disease anthrax in sheep
1882 – identified microbes causing TB
1883 – identified microbes causing Cholera
Found that chemical dyes could be used to stain specific bacteria so they could be studied more easily under the microscope
Used research teams and received govt funding
This meant he could afford new technology, large-scale testing, and develop different specialisms e.g. medicine, biology, chemistry

Here’s the activity we did in class about what influenced both Pasteur and Koch:

Colour code the boxes according to the different factors that influenced them – remember! Alternatively you can just use it for information!