Robert Koch (5)

Born in Clausthal, Germany, Robert Koch first studied the natural sciences at Gottingen University and then switched to the medical school. In 1866 he graduated, went to Berlin, and worked in charity clinics. Koch practiced medicine in a rural community for a short time and then joined the army to mostra'n més serve as a field physician. He gained valuable experience serving on the battlefield during the Franco-Prussian War. Upon leaving the army, he obtained a post as district physician in Wollstein, Austria. There, in 1876 during a severe anthrax outbreak, Koch made his first important discovery. He identified the bacillus that causes anthrax---the first time a specific pathogen was proven to cause a specific disease. This breakthrough earned Koch an appointment to the Imperial Health Service in Berlin. Koch's next achievement was the identification of the tuberculosis bacillus and the explanation of its mode of transmission. In 1905 Koch won the Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine for his work on tuberculosis. Berlin was Koch's headquarters for most of his lifetime, and he was promoted to higher ranks in the Imperial Health Service. Throughout his lifetime, he traveled extensively to the sites of different epidemics in Europe and Africa. He identified the organism that causes cholera in 1883, as well as bacteria that cause other human and animal epidemics. Koch's work established him as the founder of modern bacteriology, tropical medicine, and public health. Among his major contributions are "Koch's Postulates," the principles that have been used to diagnose disease agents. He also developed the methods used for culturing and staining bacteria, growing pure bacterial cultures, and using steam as a sterilizer. Koch had an enormous impact on the development of the field of public health, serving as the first director of the Berlin Institute for Infectious Diseases (1891). He was responsible for much early public health legislation in Europe and for developing public awareness of disease control through hygienic and immunologic measures. (Bowker Author Biography) mostra'n menys