The germ theory of disease drove French hygiene priorities in West Africa

Evidence

Medical knowledge had crossed a dramatic new threshold in the 186o’s and 187o’s, thanks to the germ theory of disease developed by, among others, Koch and Pasteur. This bacteriological revolution consisted of exposing the invisible means by which disease was spread and providing, through vaccination and improved salubrity, the means to prevent disease. These discoveries affected republican society in ways that also shed light on Dakar’s decision to make assainissement its second civilizing priority in West Africa. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 207

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the bacteriological revolution as exposing disease transmission and enabling prevention via vaccination and sanitation.
• XREF: connects to: Menstrual contamination beliefs survived into modern industrial practice and law — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 336; Germ theory expanded public demand for government health regulation — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2630