Koch's Postulates Revisited

In his criticism of scientists who find Koch's postulates obsolete,1 Todd Miller overlooks one important point. Recruiting volunteers to apply Koch's postulates to diseases such as Ebola fever and AIDS has been somewhat difficult of late. There was a time when prisoners would do, but we've outgrown that practice. Koch's postulates may or may not be obsolete, but they are not universal. David Carlberg, Ph.D. Professor Department of Biological Sciences California State University Long Beach,

David Carlberg

Oct 29, 2000 | 1 min read

In his criticism of scientists who find Koch's postulates obsolete,¹Todd Miller overlooks one important point. Recruiting volunteers to apply Koch's postulates to diseases such as Ebola fever and AIDS has been somewhat difficult of late. There was a time when prisoners would do, but we've outgrown that practice. Koch's postulates may or may not be obsolete, but they are not universal.

David Carlberg, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
California State University
Long Beach, CA 90840

1. T. E. Miller, "Infection-chronic disease link," The Scientist, 14[18]:8, Sept. 18, 2000,
a letter responding to an article, R. Lewis, "The infection-chronic disease link strengthens," The Scientist, 14[17]:1, Sept. 4, 2000.

Interested in reading more?

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!

Already a member?

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of