The victories of modern medicine are linked with the researches carried out by scientist into the causes of disease. Microbes are tiny plants like microscopic fungi which enter our bodies in the air we breathe, with the food we eat and the drink we swallow. When they enter our bloodstream they can cause infection and make us ill. Every disease has a microbe as its cause. The microbe can sometimes pass from person to person causing the disease to spread.

Today we know how to cure many diseases and we owe it all to various famous ‘germ hunter’ such as Koch, Pasteur, Bang, Schaudinn, Eberth, Loeffler and others. Microbes cause the body to produce a substance called antibodies which defend the body. These antibodies were first produced artificially in bodies through vaccination.

The first vaccination ever carried out was done by the British doctor, Edward Jenner (1749-1823), against smallpox. Jenner’s experiment was a complete success. Later chemical substances were discovered to kill microbes. These included the arseno-benzoles of the German, Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915), and the sulphonamides of another German, Gerhard Domagk (1895-1964). But it was only during the Second World War that antibiotics were discovered. Two scientists played a leading role in finding these drugs. One was the British scientist, Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, and the other was the American, Selman Waksman, who discovered streptomycin.