| Date | 1874 |
| Author | Hansen |
| Contribution | Reported observation of a bacterium in leprosy. |
| Reference | Foster |
| Notes | This entry is for the report (for which the year is not in dispute) not the observation (for which the year is uncertain. Hansen was not sure that the object seen was a bacillus or that it was causative, but unlike most others he was sure that the disease was infectious, not hereditary. Foster says it was the first description of bacterial causation of disease in humans. In conceding that he had not proved causation, Hansen was correct and forthright, but left himself open to challenge concerning priority. See 1871,1873, 1879. |
| Category | Causation |
| Pathogen Class | Bacteria |
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