How Germ Theory Brings Changes Into Practice

Germ theory revolutionized the practice of medicine and understanding of disease in the late 19th century. It encouraged efforts to reduce diseases and dramatically lowered infection mortality rates. With improved sanitation and nutrition prompted by germ theory, mortality rates greatly declined. While germ theory advanced understanding of disease causes, it did not immediately revolutionize treatments. However, it increased public awareness of disease transmission and hygiene practices to reduce spread.

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How Germ Theory Brings Changes Into Practice

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sebast107

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How germ theory brings changes into practice

Germ theory has brought many changes in the health care discipline

. It revolutionized the practice of medicine and understanding of disease. It encouraged the
reduction of diseases and dramatically reduced the infection mortality rate.With the impact of
Germ theory, sanitation and nutrition status were improved and there was a great decline in
mortality. The fight against infectious disease advanced dramatically with the influence of this
theory.
The germ theory has immediate implications to clinical practice.
According to germ theory each diseases are caused by particular microorganism. But
microorganisms are environment specific and because of that some people get sick and others do
not, when exposed to the same bacteria or viruses.
Public Awareness
Germ theory required a new public awareness not only of germs as the causes of diseases, but also of
the ways in which germs were spread from one person to another. The public was also taught about
germs as they related to home hygiene, including cooking, plumbing, and heating. Women were often
targeted to be the domestic evangelists of the gospel of germs.
In the case of tuberculosis, which formerly had been considered noncontagious, basic changes in
everyday hygiene were required. Mass production, mass communication, and national advertising had
developed alongside the germ theory during the same period, and the tools of public relations were
put into play to inform the public about TBs contagiousness, as well as to inform people about the
germ theory in general.
Causes vs. Treatments
While germ theory may have revolutionized understanding of the causes of disease, it did not
necessarily revolutionize treatment. Vaccination was an empirical procedure that had been developed
almost 80 years earlier. Though an antitoxin for diphtheria was created in the late 19th century, and a
specific drug to cure syphilis, Salvarsan, was developed by Paul Ehrlich in 1909, antibiotics would not be
developed until the 1940s.
The great decline in mortality associated with the end of the 19th century is not associated with the
impact of the germ theory, but with improved sanitation and nutrition. The identification of a disease
germ does not necessarily lead to a cure for that disease.