4.1.1
Viruses & Bacteria
Modern Understanding of Disease - Viruses & Bacteria
Modern Understanding of Disease - Viruses & Bacteria
Viruses are pathogens (micro-organisms that cause disease). They are not bacteria and could not be seen under microscopes by people like Koch and Pasteur.
The discovery of viruses
The discovery of viruses
- In 1892, Dmitry Ivanovsky stumbled upon the tobacco mosaic virus in plants. He found that some microbes stayed even after all bacteria microbes were killed.
- Martinus Beijernick was the first to call these microbes 'viruses' in 1898.
Different treatments
Different treatments
- Viruses could not be killed by antibiotics. This meant that a new treatment had to be found and they were approved for use on people.
- Antiviral drugs can stop viruses from growing in the body, but they were not discovered until a lot later in the 1950s.
- Antibiotics kill bacteria, but antivirals only stop viruses from growing, they don't kill them. The body (and its immune system) must kill the virus.
1Medicine in Medieval England
1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
2The Medical Renaissance in England
2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain
3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
4Medicine in Modern Britain
4.1Modern Understanding of Disease
4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
5Treatment in WW1
6Themes in Medicine
7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)
7.1Medieval Medicine
Jump to other topics
1Medicine in Medieval England
1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
2The Medical Renaissance in England
2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain
3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
4Medicine in Modern Britain
4.1Modern Understanding of Disease
4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
5Treatment in WW1
6Themes in Medicine
7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)
7.1Medieval Medicine
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