Robert Koch produced a set of criteria to establish whether a particular organism is the cause of a disease in an animal - HSC - SSCE Biology - Question 12 - 2020 - Paper 1
Question 12
Robert Koch produced a set of criteria to establish whether a particular organism is the cause of a disease in an animal. The criteria are listed below but not in th... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Robert Koch produced a set of criteria to establish whether a particular organism is the cause of a disease in an animal - HSC - SSCE Biology - Question 12 - 2020 - Paper 1
Step 1
2. The microorganism must be extracted and isolated from the diseased animal and subsequently grown in culture.
96%
114 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
This step ensures that the microorganism can be isolated from the infected host and cultured to study its properties.
Step 2
4. The microorganism must be found in the diseased animal, and not found in healthy animals.
99%
104 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
Identifying the microorganism in the diseased animal establishes a direct correlation between the microorganism and the disease.
Step 3
1. The microorganism must cause disease when introduced to a healthy experimental animal.
96%
101 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
Demonstrating that the isolated microorganism can cause disease in a healthy host is crucial to proving it as the causative agent.
Step 4
3. The microorganism must be extracted from the diseased experimental animal and demonstrated to be the same microorganism that was isolated from the first diseased animal.
98%
120 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
Finally, confirming that the microorganism from the experimental infection matches that from the original diseased animal solidifies the conclusion of causation.
