ABSTRACT
The story of microbiology begins at the very end of the 16th century. Up until the late 1800s, many held that microbial life developed from some form of “spontaneous generation” arising from decaying organic matter, fertile mud, and the like. Years passed, and in the 1850s, the German microbiologists Heinrich Schroder and Theodor von Dusch introduced the use of cotton plugs to filter microbes and maintain sterile solutions. In 1953, the American microbiologist Jonas Edward Salk announced the successful trials of a vaccine against polio. Organic stains or dyes had become more important in microbiology. The British microbiologists Donald Woods and Paul Fildes discovered that the sulfa drugs work by blocking the catalytic site of an enzyme involved in folic acid synthesis. Edwin Chadwick believed that the state must engage in protecting the health of its citizens, particularly the poorest. He believed that public health issues often required massive state investment in infrastructure and prevention.
