ROBERT KOCH: BIOGRAPHY, POSTULATES, CONTRIBUTIONS AND DISCOVERIES - ARTE - 2024

Robert Koch (1843-1910) was a German microbiologist and physician acclaimed for having discovered the bacillus that causes tuberculosis in 1882. In addition, Koch also found the bacillus that causes cholera and wrote a series of very important postulates about this bacterium. He is currently considered the father of modern medical microbiology.

After the discovery of the bacillus in cholera in 1883, Koch dedicated himself to writing his postulates; thanks to this he obtained the nickname of "founder of bacteriology". These discoveries and investigations led the doctor to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905.

Robert Koch is known as the father of modern medical microbiology. Source:

In general terms, the technical work of Robert Koch consisted in achieving the isolation of the microorganism that caused the disease to force it to grow in a pure culture. This had the purpose of reproducing the disease in the animals used in the laboratory; Koch decided to use a guinea pig.

After infecting the rodent, Koch again isolated the germ from the infected animals to corroborate its identity by comparing it with the original bacteria, which allowed him to recognize the bacillus.

Koch's postulates served to establish the conditions under which an organism can be considered as the cause of a disease. To develop this research, Koch used Bacillus anthracis and showed that by injecting a little blood from a sick rodent to a healthy one, the latter will suffer from anthrax (a highly contagious disease).

Robert Koch dedicated his life to studying infectious diseases with the aim of establishing that, although many bacteria are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body, others are harmful and even fatal because they cause many diseases.

The researches of this scientist implied a decisive moment in the history of medicine and bacteriology: during the nineteenth century the life expectancy of humans was reduced and few people reached old age. Robert Koch (along with Louis Pasteur) managed to introduce important advances despite the limited technological resources of the time.

Biography

Early years

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch was born on December 11, 1843 in Chausthal, specifically in the Harz Mountains, a place that at that time belonged to the kingdom of Hannover. His father was an important engineer in the mines.

In 1866 the hometown of the scientist became Prussia, as a result of the Austro-Prussian warfare.

Koch studied medicine at the University of Göttingen, which was highly regarded for the quality of its scientific teachings. His tutor was Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, who was a physician, anatomist and zoologist who was widely acclaimed for having discovered the loop of Henle located in the kidney. Koch earned his college degree in 1866.

Upon graduation, Koch participated in the Franco-Prussian War, which ended in 1871. He later became the official physician for Wollstein, a district located in Polish Prussia.

During this period he devoted himself to working hard in bacteriology, despite the few technical resources of the time. He became one of the founders of this discipline together with Louis Pasteur.

Background and work on the bacillus

Before Koch studied the bacillus, another scientist named Casimir Davaine had succeeded in showing that the anthrax bacillus - also known as anthrax - was transmitted directly between cattle.

From that moment on, Koch became interested in learning more about how the disease spread.

Finding the endospores

To delve into this area, the German scientist decided to extract the bacillus from some blood samples in order to force it to grow in certain pure cultures.

Thanks to this procedure, Koch realized that the bacillus did not have the capacity to survive for long periods in the external part of the host; however, it could manufacture endospores that did manage to survive.

Likewise, the scientist discovered which was the agent that caused the disease: the endospores found in the soil explained the emergence of spontaneous outbreaks of anthrax.

These discoveries were published in 1876 and earned Koch an award from the Imperial Health Office of the city of Berlin. Koch received the award four years after its discovery.

In this context, in 1881 he decided to promote sterilization -that is, the cleaning of a product in order to eradicate viable microorganisms- of surgical instruments through the application of heat.

Stay in Berlin

During his stay in the city of Berlin, Koch managed to improve the methods he had been using in Wollstein, so he was able to include certain purification and staining techniques that contributed significantly to his research.

Koch was able to use the agar plates, which consist of a culture medium, to grow small plants or microorganisms.

He also used the Petri dish, made by Julius Richard Petri, who was Koch's assistant during some of his research. The Petri dish or box consists of a round container that allows you to place the plate on top and close the container, but not hermetically.

Both the agar plate and the Petri dish are devices that are still in use today. With these instruments Koch managed to discover Mycobacerium tuberculosis in 1882: the announcement of the finding was generated on March 24 of that same year.

In the 19th century, tuberculosis was one of the most lethal diseases, since it caused one in every seven deaths.

Cholera study

In 1883 Robert Koch decided to join a French study and research team that had decided to travel to Alexandria in order to analyze the disease of cholera. In addition, he also signed up to study in India, where he dedicated himself to identifying the bacteria that caused this disease, known as Vibrio.

In 1854 Filippo Pacini had managed to isolate this bacterium; however, this discovery had been ignored due to the popular miasmatic theory of disease, which established that diseases were the product of miasmas (fetid emanations found in impure waters and in soils).

Koch is considered unaware of Pacini's research, so his discovery emerged independently. Thanks to his prominence, Robert was able to disseminate the results more successfully, which was of general benefit. However, in 1965 scientists renamed the bacteria Vibrio cholerae in honor of Pacini.

Teaching experience and travel

In 1885 Koch was selected as a professor of hygiene by the University of Berlin and later became an honorary professor in 1891, specifically in the area of ​​medicine.

He was also rector of the Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases, which was later renamed the Robert Koch Institute as a tribute to his remarkable research.

In 1904 Koch decided to leave his post at the institute in order to undertake trips around the world. This allowed him to analyze different diseases in India, Java and South Africa.

During his journey the scientist visited the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, located in Mukteshwar. This he did at the request of the government of India, as there was a strong plague spread throughout the livestock.

The utensils that Koch used during this research, among which the microscope stands out, are still preserved in the museum of that institute.

Last years and death

Thanks to the methods used by Koch, many of his pupils and apprentices were able to discover the organisms that cause pneumonia, diphtheria, typhus, gonorrhea, leprosy, cerebrospinal meningitis, tetanus, syphilis and pulmonary plague.

Likewise, this German scientist was not only important for his research on tuberculosis but also for his postulates, which served him to obtain the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1905.

Robert Koch died on May 27, 1910 as a result of a heart attack in the German city Baden-Baden. The scientist was 66 years old.

Koch's postulates

Koch's postulates were formulated by the scientist after he carried out his experiments on Bacillus anthracis.

These precepts were applied to know the etiology of anthrax; however, they can be used to study any infectious disease because these precepts allow identifying the agent that causes the condition.

Taking this into account, the following postulates elaborated by Robert Koch can be established:

First postulate

The pathogen - or harmful agent - must be present only in sick animals, which implies that it is absent in healthy animals.

Second postulate

The pathogen must be grown in a pure axenic culture, which means that it must be grown in a microbial species that comes from a single cell. This must be done on the animal's body.

Third postulate

The pathogenic agent that was previously isolated in the axenic culture must induce the disease or disease in an animal that is fit when inoculated.

Fourth postulate

Finally, the pathogenic agent has to be isolated again after having produced the lesions in the animals selected for the experiment. Said agent must be the same agent that was isolated on the first occasion.

Contributions and discoveries

Isolation of bacteria

In general terms, the most significant contribution of Robert Koch consisted in isolating the bacteria that cause the emergence of cholera and tuberculosis in order to study them as pathogens.

Thanks to this Koch research, the existence of other diseases later began to be related to the presence of bacteria and microorganisms.

Before Robert Koch's findings, the progress of research on human diseases during the 19th century was quite slow, as there were many difficulties in obtaining pure cultures containing only one type of microorganism.

In 1880 the scientist managed to simplify these inconveniences by cultivating the bacteria in containers or solid media instead of protecting the bacteria in liquid containers; this prevented the microorganisms from mixing. After this contribution the discoveries began to develop more quickly.

Diseases caused by germs

Before getting the solid cultures, Koch had already managed to show that diseases occur due to the presence of germs and not vice versa.

To test his theory, the German scientist had grown several small rod-shaped or rod-shaped bodies that had been found in the organic tissues of rodents that suffered from the anthrax disease.

If these bacilli were introduced into healthy animals, they caused the disease and ended up dying shortly after.

Achievements and awards

Robert Koch's highest honor for his accomplishments was the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which is awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions or discoveries in the area of ​​life sciences or medicine.

Koch received this distinction as a result of his postulates, since these allowed and facilitated the study of bacteriology.

Current awards honoring Robert Koch

As for the prizes awarded in his name, in 1970 the Robert Koch Prize (Robert Koch Preis) was established in Germany, which is a prestigious award for scientific innovations made by young Germans.

This award is awarded by the German Ministry of Health every year to those who have excelled in the area of ​​biomedicine. In this way, research related to infectious and carcinogenic diseases is promoted.

Likewise, there is not only the Robert Koch award but there is also a foundation with his name, which is in charge of granting this recognition along with a sum of 100,000 euros and a gold medal as a distinction for the professional career of scientists.

Published works

Some of Robert Koch's best known published works include the following:

- Investigations in the etiology of infectious diseases, published in 1880.

- The etiology of tuberculosis, carried out in 1890.

- Possible remedies for tuberculosis, written in 1890.

- Professor Koch on the bacteriological diagnosis of cholera, water leakage and cholera in Germany during the winter of 1892. (This work was published in 1894 and consists of a compilation of different scientific experiences related to cholera).

References

1. Anderson, M. (sf) Robert Koch and his discoveries. Retrieved on June 2, 2019 from History and biographies: historiaybiografias.com
2. López, A. (2017) Robert Koch, the father of modern medical microbiology. Retrieved on June 2, 2019 from El País: elpais.com
3. Pérez, A. (2001) Life and work of Roberto Koch. Retrieved on June 3, 2019 from Imbiomed: imbiomed.com
4. SA (nd) Robert Koch. Retrieved on June 3, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
5. Vicente, M. (2008) Robert Koch: scientist, traveler and lover. Retrieved on June 3, 2019 from Madrid more: madrimasd.org