Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Koch's postulates (/ k ɒ x / KOKH) [2] are four criteria designed to establish a causal relationship between a microbe and a disease. The postulates were formulated by Robert Koch and Friedrich Loeffler in 1884, based on earlier concepts described by Jakob Henle , and the statements were refined and published by Koch in 1890. [ 3 ]
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), also known as Koch's bacillus, is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch , M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface primarily due to the presence of mycolic acid .
Infections associated with diseases are those infections that are associated with possible infectious etiologies that meet the requirements of Koch's postulates. Other methods of causation are described by the Bradford Hill criteria and evidence-based medicine .
However, most infections with M. tuberculosis do not cause disease, [169] and 90–95% of infections remain asymptomatic. [87] In 2012, an estimated 8.6 million chronic cases were active. [ 170 ] In 2010, 8.8 million new cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed, and 1.20–1.45 million deaths occurred (most of these occurring in developing countries ).
While a primary infection can practically be viewed as the root cause of an individual's current health problem, a secondary infection is a sequela or complication of that root cause. For example, an infection due to a burn or penetrating trauma (the root cause) is a secondary infection. Primary pathogens often cause primary infection and often ...
Each year the pathogen causes an average of 900 deaths, 109,000 hospitalizations, 465,000 emergency room visits, and 19 to 21 million illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and ...
Molecular Koch's postulates are a set of experimental criteria that must be satisfied to show that a gene found in a pathogenic microorganism encodes a product that contributes to the disease caused by the pathogen. Genes that satisfy molecular Koch's postulates are often referred to as virulence factors.
Bacterial pathogens often cause infection in specific areas of the body. Others are generalists. Bacterial vaginosis is a condition of the vaginal microbiota in which an excessive growth of Gardnerella vaginalis and other mostly anaerobic bacteria displace the beneficial Lactobacilli species that maintain healthy vaginal microbial populations.