Germ Theory of Disease

The Germ Theory of Disease was developed by a French Chemist by the name of Louis Pasteur. He discovered that the fermentation process of alcohol was caused by microscopic organisms he called bacteria. He also found that bacteria was killed by heat and that led him to develop the process of pasteurization that he used to kill germs in liquids such as milk. Pasteur and others later discovered that bacteria also caused diseases. It changed the world because a British Surgeon by the name Joseph Lister read about Pasteur's work and thought that these germs or bacteria may explain why half of all surgical patients during this time period died from infections. Because of this theory, he began to have his surgical wards kept spotlessly clean, and insisted that wounds be washed with antiseptics. As a result of this, 85% of Lister's patients survived. These practices are still being used even today.