Robert Koch: Discoveries of Anthrax, Tuberculosis, and Cholera Bacilli
1. ROBERT KOCH
1843 – 1910
DR. C. BEULAH JAYARANI
M.Sc., M.A, M.Ed, M.Phil (Edn), M.Phil (ZOO), NET, Ph.D (Edn)
ASST. PROFESSOR,
LOYOLA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI - 34
6. Göttingen
University –
medicine – 1862
He was under the
Professor of
Anatomy, Jacob
Henle
Graduated with a
M.D. degree in
1866
EDUCATION
7. Koch visited Berlin
to attend the Charité
clinics and Rudolf
Virchow’s course in
pathology
Father of modern
pathology
EDUCATION
8. In 1866, he
married a
daughter of the
general
superintendent of
Clausthal, Emmy
Adolfine Josefine
Fraatz
PERSONAL LIFE
9. Assistant in the
General Hospital at
Hamburg in 1867
but soon resigned
Passed the District
Medical Officer’s
Examination and
joined as military
volunteer during
Franco-Prussian war
from 1872 to 1880
CAREER
10. Set out to prove scientifically that a
bacillus is, in fact, the cause of Anthrax
which was popular
Inoculated mice (with anthrax
bacilli) using spleens of dead
infected animals and found that mice
all died of infection
But mice inoculated with blood from
spleens of healthy animals did not suffer
from the disease.
CAREER
11. Koch noticed spore
formation during
unfavourable conditions
which can resist adverse
conditions
Koch grew the bacilli for
several and showed that
they could still cause
anthrax.
CAREER
12. Koch showed the
results to Ferdinand
Cohn (Professor of
Botany,
University of
Breslau) who
published Koch’s
work in his
journal in 1876
CAREER
13. In 1880 he was appointed a member of the Imperial Health Bureau
in Berlin
Invented new methods of cultivating pure cultures of bacteria on
solid medias of potato, agar (Petri plates)
Developed bacterial staining methods making them easily visible
and easy to identify
Pathogenic bacteria could now be easily obtained in pure culture,
by which they could be detected and identified
Koch also gave ‘Koch’s postulates’; conditions to be met before
noting which bacteria causes a particular disease
CAREER
14.
15. Koch discovered the
tubercle bacillus, isolated
it and published his work
in 1882
In 1883, he went to Egypt
and India as part of the
German Cholera
Commission to investigate
an outbreak of cholera
He discovered vibrio
that cause cholera
CAREER
16. In 1885, he was appointed
Professor of Hygiene in the
University of Berlin and Director
of the newly established Institute
of Hygiene in the University
In 1890, he was appointed as a
General Surgeon in Berlin
In 1891 he became an Honorary
Professor of the Medical Faculty
of Berlin and Director of the new
Institute for Infectious Diseases
CAREER
17. In 1896, Koch went to South Africa to study the origin of
rinderpest – (incomplete)
Worked in India and Africa on malaria, blackwater fever, surra
of cattle and horses and plague – published in 1898
Went to Italy where he studied malaria and found different
forms of malaria and their control with quinine
Also found that bovine and human tuberculosis are not the same
– controversy – proven right
In 1904, he went to East Africa to study cattle fever and ticks
CAREER
18. In 1905 he
was awarded
the Nobel
Prize for
Physiology or
Medicine
AWARDS