Germ theory denialism: Difference between revisions
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Germ theory denialism (GTD) is as old as germ theory itself, beginning with the rivalry of Pasteur and Béchamp. Pasteur's work in preventing beverage contamination led him to discover that it was due to [[microorganisms]] and led him to become the first scientist to prove the validity of the theory and to popularize it in Europe.{{R|"gorski"}} Before him, scientists such as [[Girolamo Fracastoro]] (who had the idea that [[fomites]] could harbor the seeds of contagion), [[Agostino Bassi]] (who discovered that the [[muscardine]] disease of silkworms was caused by a fungus that was named ''[[Beauveria bassiana]]''), [[Friedrich Henle]] (who developed the concepts of ''contagium vivum'' and ''contagium animatum''), and others had proposed ideas similar to germ theory.{{R|"contagion"}}{{R|"guthrie"}} |
Germ theory denialism (GTD) is as old as germ theory itself, beginning with the rivalry of Pasteur and Béchamp. Pasteur's work in preventing beverage contamination led him to discover that it was due to [[microorganisms]] and led him to become the first scientist to prove the validity of the theory and to popularize it in Europe.{{R|"gorski"}} Before him, scientists such as [[Girolamo Fracastoro]] (who had the idea that [[fomites]] could harbor the seeds of contagion), [[Agostino Bassi]] (who discovered that the [[muscardine]] disease of silkworms was caused by a fungus that was named ''[[Beauveria bassiana]]''), [[Friedrich Henle]] (who developed the concepts of ''contagium vivum'' and ''contagium animatum''), and others had proposed ideas similar to germ theory.{{R|"contagion"}}{{R|"guthrie"}} |
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Béchamp strongly contested Pasteur's view, proposing a competing idea known as the pleomorphic theory of disease. This theory says that all life is based on forms that a certain class of organisms take during stages of their life |
Béchamp strongly contested Pasteur's view, proposing a competing idea known as the pleomorphic theory of disease. This theory says that all life is based on forms that a certain class of organisms take during stages of their life cycles and that germs are attracted to the environment of diseased tissue rather than being the cause of it.{{R|"bechamp"}} Proponents of this idea insist that microbes that live in an organism go through the same stages of their development. According to [[Günther Enderlein]], the stages are as follows:{{R|"synth"}} |
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* [[colloid]] – [[microbe]] (primitive phase) |
* [[colloid]] – [[microbe]] (primitive phase) |
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* [[bacteria]] (middle phase) |
* [[bacteria]] (middle phase) |
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* [[fungus]] (end phase) |
* [[fungus]] (end phase) |
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===historical non-germ theories=== |
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====Miasma theory==== |
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One earlier idea was the [[Miasma theory|miasma]], focused on [[spontaneous generation]] – the idea that living matter could arise from non-living –. The miasma theory is an [[Superseded scientific theories#Biology|obsolete medical theory]] that [[opinion|held]] that [[disease]]s—such as [[cholera]], [[Chlamydia infection|chlamydia]], or the [[Black Death]]—were caused by a ''miasma'' ({{Lang|grc|μίασμα}}, [[Ancient Greek]] for 'pollution'), a noxious form of "bad air", also known as "night air." The theory held that [[epidemics]] were caused by miasma, emanating from rotting organic matter.<ref>{{cite book |title=miasma theory |work=A Dictionary of Public Health |editor=John M. Last |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |location=Westminster College, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-19-516090-1 |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e2851}}</ref> Though miasma theory is typically associated with the spread of contagious diseases, some academics in the early nineteenth century suggested that the theory extended to other conditions as well, e.g. one could become obese by inhaling the odor of food.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title = Death and Miasma in Victorian London: An Obstinate Belief|last = Halliday|first = Stephen|date = 2001|journal = British Medical Journal|volume = 323|issue = 7327|pages = 1469–1471|doi = 10.1136/bmj.323.7327.1469|pmid = 11751359|pmc = 1121911}}</ref> |
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The miasma theory was advanced by [[Hippocrates]] in the fourth century B.C.<ref>{{cite book |last1=van der Eijk |first1=P.J. |title=Hippocrates in Context: Papers Read at the XIth International Hippocrates Colloquium (University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 27-31 August 2002) |date=2005 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004377271 |pages=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NqSODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref> and accepted from ancient times in Europe and China. The theory was eventually abandoned by scientists and physicians after 1880, replaced by the [[germ theory of disease]]: specific germs, not miasma, caused specific diseases. However, cultural beliefs about getting rid of odor made the clean-up of waste a high priority for cities.<ref>Linda Nash, ''Inescapable Ecologies: A History of Environment, Disease, and Knowledge'' (2007)</ref><ref>Suellen Hoy, ''Chasing Dirt: The American Pursuit of Cleanliness'' (1996) pp. 104–13</ref> |
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====Terrain theory==== |
====Terrain theory==== |
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The terrain theory is a variation of Béchamp's ideas that is also an [[Superseded scientific theories#Biology|obsolete medical theory]] that [[opinion|held]] that [[disease]]s were caused by the composition of |
The terrain theory is a variation of Béchamp's ideas that is also an [[Superseded scientific theories#Biology|obsolete medical theory]] that [[opinion|held]] that [[disease]]s were caused by the composition of the body. The "terrain", will attract [[Germ theory of disease|germ]]s to come as scavengers of the weakened or poorly defended tissue. Béchamp believed that the [[pH]] of the body is important, and that an [[acid]]ic pH will attract germs and an [[alkali]]ne pH will repel them. Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation with a series of experiments in the 1870s.{{R|"contagion"}} However, understanding the cause of a sickness does not always immediately lead to effective treatment of sickness, and the great decline in mortality during the 19th century stemmed mostly from improvements in hygiene and cleanliness. In fact, one of the first movements to deny the germ theory, the [[Sanitary Movement]], was nevertheless central in developing America's [[public health]] infrastructure. Providing clean water and sanitation reduced the environment for [[pathogens]] to develop, and [[mortality rates]] fell dramatically.{{R|"pizzi"}}<ref>https://www.wired.com/story/the-19th-century-crank-who-tried-to-tell-us-about-the-microbiome/</ref><ref name=Brock>{{cite book | author = Madigan M, Martinko J (editors). | title = Brock Biology of Microorganisms | edition = 11th | publisher = Prentice Hall | year = 2005 | isbn = 0-13-144329-1 }}</ref> |
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== Status == |
== Status == |
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GTD has significant overlap with [[chiropractic]] practice. Many [[chiropractor]]s believe [[Immunity (medical) |immunity]] to be a function of spine alignment and of the brain's ability to communicate efficiently with the body and that it has little to nothing to do with external [[pathogen]]s.{{R|"barrett"}}{{Better source needed|reason=source is mainly polemical, only data is very tiny survey, and even then 'many' is a minority, and about vaccines, not germ theory.|date=August 2022}} |
GTD has significant overlap with [[chiropractic]] practice. Many [[chiropractor]]s believe [[Immunity (medical) |immunity]] to be a function of spine alignment and of the brain's ability to communicate efficiently with the body and that it has little to nothing to do with external [[pathogen]]s.{{R|"barrett"}}{{Better source needed|reason=source is mainly polemical, only data is very tiny survey, and even then 'many' is a minority, and about vaccines, not germ theory.|date=August 2022}} |
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A common thread among many alternative |
A common thread among many [[alternative medicine]] proponents is[[Anti-vaccine movement| opposition to vaccines]], and some use GTD to justify their claims.{{R|"crislip"}} Germ theory deniers make many claims about the biological underpinnings of the theory and the historical record{{R|"fielder"}}{{R|"arizona"}} that are at odds with what most modern scientists and historians accept.{{R|"novella"}}{{R|"gorski"}}{{R|"contagion"}}{{R|"hodkinson"}} Another claim from the anti-vaccine community involves the theory that all diseases are caused by [[Toxin#Misuse of the term|toxins]] due to inadequate diet and health practices.{{R|"hall"}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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[[Category:Obsolete medical theories]] |
[[Category:Obsolete medical theories]] |
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[[Category:Pseudoscience]] |
[[Category:Pseudoscience]] |
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[[Category:Alternative medicine]] |
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Revision as of 04:04, 8 December 2022
Germ theory denialism is the pseudoscientific belief that germs do not cause infectious disease, and that the germ theory of disease is wrong.[1] It usually involves arguing that Louis Pasteur's model of infectious disease was wrong, and that Antoine Béchamp's was right. In fact, its origins are rooted in Béchamp's empirically disproven (in the context of disease) theory of pleomorphism.[2] Another obsolete variation is known as terrain theory and postulates that the state of the internal environment determines if germs cause disease rather than germs being the sole cause of it.[3]
History
Germ theory denialism (GTD) is as old as germ theory itself, beginning with the rivalry of Pasteur and Béchamp. Pasteur's work in preventing beverage contamination led him to discover that it was due to microorganisms and led him to become the first scientist to prove the validity of the theory and to popularize it in Europe.[2] Before him, scientists such as Girolamo Fracastoro (who had the idea that fomites could harbor the seeds of contagion), Agostino Bassi (who discovered that the muscardine disease of silkworms was caused by a fungus that was named Beauveria bassiana), Friedrich Henle (who developed the concepts of contagium vivum and contagium animatum), and others had proposed ideas similar to germ theory.[4][5]
Béchamp strongly contested Pasteur's view, proposing a competing idea known as the pleomorphic theory of disease. This theory says that all life is based on forms that a certain class of organisms take during stages of their life cycles and that germs are attracted to the environment of diseased tissue rather than being the cause of it.[6] Proponents of this idea insist that microbes that live in an organism go through the same stages of their development. According to Günther Enderlein, the stages are as follows:[7]
Terrain theory
The terrain theory is a variation of Béchamp's ideas that is also an obsolete medical theory that held that diseases were caused by the composition of the body. The "terrain", will attract germs to come as scavengers of the weakened or poorly defended tissue. Béchamp believed that the pH of the body is important, and that an acidic pH will attract germs and an alkaline pH will repel them. Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation with a series of experiments in the 1870s.[4] However, understanding the cause of a sickness does not always immediately lead to effective treatment of sickness, and the great decline in mortality during the 19th century stemmed mostly from improvements in hygiene and cleanliness. In fact, one of the first movements to deny the germ theory, the Sanitary Movement, was nevertheless central in developing America's public health infrastructure. Providing clean water and sanitation reduced the environment for pathogens to develop, and mortality rates fell dramatically.[8][9][10]
Status
Germ theory denialism is counter to over a century of experiments and practical observations, and the prevailing opinion of most doctors and scientists.[1][2][11]
GTD has significant overlap with chiropractic practice. Many chiropractors believe immunity to be a function of spine alignment and of the brain's ability to communicate efficiently with the body and that it has little to nothing to do with external pathogens.[12][better source needed]
A common thread among many alternative medicine proponents is opposition to vaccines, and some use GTD to justify their claims.[13] Germ theory deniers make many claims about the biological underpinnings of the theory and the historical record[14][15] that are at odds with what most modern scientists and historians accept.[1][2][4][16] Another claim from the anti-vaccine community involves the theory that all diseases are caused by toxins due to inadequate diet and health practices.[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Novella, Steven (2010-11-04). "Germ Theory Denial". neurologica blog. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d Gorski, David (2010-08-09). "Germ theory denialism: A major strain in "alt-med" thought". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ Madigan, M.T.; Martinko, J.M. (2006). Brock Biology of Microorganisms. Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0132017848. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ a b c "Germ Theory". Contagion – Historical Views of Disease and Epidemics. Harvard. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Guthrie, D.J.; Rhodes, P. "Verification of the germ theory". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Major, D. "Antoine Bechamp, Pleomorphism and Microzymas". adistantmirror.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018.
- ^ Poehlman, Karl Horst (1997). "Synthesis of the Work of Enderlein, Bechamps and other Pleomorphic Researchers". Explore!. 8 (2). ISSN 1091-8361. Archived from the original on January 31, 1998.
- ^ Pizzi, R.A. "Apostles of cleanliness". the timeline. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ https://www.wired.com/story/the-19th-century-crank-who-tried-to-tell-us-about-the-microbiome/
- ^ Madigan M, Martinko J (editors). (2005). Brock Biology of Microorganisms (11th ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-144329-1.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Gorski, David (2010-08-09). "Yes, there really are people who don't accept the germ theory of disease". Respectful Insolence. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Barrett, Steven (10 March 2016). "Chiropractors and Immunization". Chirobase. Quackwatch. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Crilip, Mark (2008-11-07). "It's just a theory". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Fielder, J.L. (2001). Handbook of Nature Cure Volume One: Nature Cure vs. Medical Science; Chapter One: That Fallacious Germ Theory. Academy of Natural Living. ISBN 0958661146. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ "Vaccinations – Overview". Arizona Advanced Medicine. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Hodkinson, J. "The history of germ theory". Big Picture Education. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Hall, Harriet A. (2008-12-09). "'I Reject Your Reality' – Germ Theory Denial and Other Curiosities". science-based medicine. Retrieved 22 May 2018.