| Date | 1879 |
| Author | Koch |
| Contribution | Published classic paper on the "etiology of traumatic infective diseases." |
| Reference | Brock |
| Notes | These were the septic complications associated with surgical or accidental skin cuts. Koch inoculated putrid materials into rabbits and mice, and used histological methods to demonstrate the existence of six different septic diseases, each caused by a different bacterium. Foster points out that until this time, only one disease, anthrax, had been convincingly shown to be caused by a bacterium. Koch correctly postulated that the comparable septic diseases in humans would be caused by similar bacteria. He made the important point that specific bacteria had constant characteristics. The impact of the paper was enhanced by its publication in English in 1880. |
| Category | Causation |
| Pathogen Class | Bacteria |
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