Koch's Postulates — Then and Now

Abstract

This story begins in the early 1880s. The germ theory of disease was fairly well established, although some experts continued to challenge it. For example, Theodor Billroth (1829–1894) of Vienna, often called the founding father of abdominal surgery, did not immediately accept the germ theory, but later embraced the concept and became very successful in many pioneering surgeries. Another critic was Max von Pettenkofer (1818–1901) of Bavaria, a noted experimental hygienist. In 1892, Pettenkofer openly challenged Robert Koch (1843– 1910) on his theories about Vibrio cholerae by drinking the contents of a flask containing the cholera bacillus. The flask had been given to Pettenkofer by Koch himself, but Pettenkofer did not contract cholera! Perhaps the biggest critic was the famous physician Rudolph Virchow (1821–1902) of Berlin. Virchow believed that diseased cells arose only from other diseased cells, and strongly opposed the germ theory of disease. Other skeptics could be cited, but the important point is that Koch was working in a controversial area of medicine and experimental research in the late 1800s.