Fundamentals of Microbiology [Part 5]

History of Microbiology 2-2

After Pasteur’s negation of the theory of spontaneous generation in the mid-19th century, many studies were conducted on the relationship between diseases and microorganisms, deepening the understanding of what we now call infectious diseases.

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch of Germany discovered anthrax bacteria, tuberculosis bacteria, and cholera bacteria. He also established a pure isolation method for bacteria that was not possible before. Koch’s postulates, the basic guidelines proposed by Koch to prove the pathogen of an infectious disease, are still used today to prove the causal relationship in infectious diseases.

Koch’s Postulates
(Quoted from Wikipedia)

1. The microorganism must be found in abundance in all organisms suffering from the disease but should not be found in healthy organisms.

2. The microorganism must be isolated from a diseased organism and grown in pure culture.

3. The cultured microorganism should cause disease when introduced into a healthy, susceptible organism.

4. The microorganism must be reisolated from the inoculated, diseased experimental host and identified as being identical to the original specific causative agent.

Reference
（Koch, Robert. Zur Unterusuchung von pathogenen Organismen. 1881. Mittheilungen aus dem Kaiserlichen Gesundheitsante, Vol.1. 1-48）

During this period, Japanese microbiologists also achieved many results. Shibasaburo Kitasato (pure culture of tetanus bacteria in 1889, development of serum therapy in 1890) and his student Kiyoshi Shiga (discovery of dysentery bacteria in 1897) are widely known as prominent microbiologists.

Later, at the end of the 19th century, Dmitri Iosifovich Ivanovsky of Russia discovered viruses, revealing the existence of pathogens smaller than bacteria.

Entering the 20th century, Alexander Fleming of the United Kingdom discovered penicillin in 1928, and Selman Abraham Waksman of the United States discovered streptomycin in 1946, marking the beginning of the antibiotic era. Subsequently, new antibiotics were discovered one after another, and thanks to the treatment of infectious diseases with antibiotics, great progress was made in human life expectancy.

Later, in 1979, Frederick Sanger of the United Kingdom devised a method for determining the base sequence of DNA, which led to the evolution of microbiology into the era of biotechnology.

Figure 1 History of Microbiology

Life expectancy of Japanese people has increased sharply since 1950. Until the first half of the 20th century, the average human life expectancy was less than 50 years. This is because the infant mortality rate was high at that time, so 50 years old was not necessarily the natural lifespan. However, it is believed that the overall progress of medicine, especially the popularization of infectious disease treatment drugs such as antibiotics, has contributed greatly.

Author

Tatsuo Furuya
Senior Consultant, GMP Platform, CM Plus Corporation
After working in sterilization management, microbiology, and quality assurance at Johnson & Johnson, Creative Medic, and Boston Scientific, he joined CM Plus, Inc. in 2013.
While working for the medical device manufacturer above, he participated in the Health and Welfare Science Research Group and various sterilization-related committees as a specialist in ethylene oxide sterilization.

About GMP Platform (https://www.gmp-platform.com/)

GMP Platform is a free GMP-related information portal established in 2012 and operated by CM Plus Corporation. Built on CM Plus’s founding principle of addressing quality-related issues in life science facilities, the site provides practical, expert-led information for life science manufacturing professionals. With more than 26,000 registered users, GMP Platform introduces the latest GMP-related regulations and trends in Japan, the United States, Europe, and other regions, along with translated and explanatory articles on guidelines, technical articles, seminars, e-learning programs, and books. It is widely used by professionals involved in GMP compliance, quality assurance, and the development of effective quality systems.Please use Google Translate or similar translation tools to read more articles originally published in Japanese.
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GMP Microorganism and sterilization Management [2026 Edition] Fundamentals of Microbiology [Part 5] 2026/09/29

GMP
Microorganism and sterilization Management [2026 Edition] Fundamentals of Microbiology [Part 5] 2026/09/29