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Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch (/ k ɒ x / KOKH; [1] [2] German: [ˈʁoːbɛʁt ˈkɔx] ⓘ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist.As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax, he is regarded as one of the main founders of modern bacteriology.
Koch's postulates (/ k ɒ x / KOKH) [2] are four criteria designed to establish a causal relationship between a microbe and a disease. The postulates were formulated by Robert Koch and Friedrich Loeffler in 1884, based on earlier concepts described by Jakob Henle , and the statements were refined and published by Koch in 1890. [ 3 ]
Koch took his research into a new direction—applied research—to develop a tuberculosis treatment and use the profits to found his own research institute, autonomous from government. [17] In 1890 Koch introduced the intended drug, tuberculin, but it soon proved ineffective, and accounts of deaths followed in news press. [18]
During the fifth cholera pandemic, Robert Koch isolated Vibrio cholerae and proposed postulates to explain how bacteria caused disease. His work helped to establish the germ theory of disease. Prior to this time, many physicians believed that microorganisms were spontaneously generated, and disease was caused by direct exposure to filth and decay.
In 1910, Robert Koch died of a heart attack and was placed inside a mausoleum within the Robert Koch Institute. This building houses 1,500 items related to Robert Koch including various writings and scientific materials such as prepared microscope slides. [63] The institute is still an active research and public health facility.
Epidemiology, the study of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in populations, is an important part of medical microbiology, although the clinical aspect of the field primarily focuses on the presence and growth of microbial infections in individuals, their effects on the human body, and the methods of treating ...
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode . As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Health .
Molecular Koch's postulates are a set of experimental criteria that must be satisfied to show that a gene found in a pathogenic microorganism encodes a product that contributes to the disease caused by the pathogen. Genes that satisfy molecular Koch's postulates are often referred to as virulence factors.