In 1884, German scientist Friedrich Loeffler isolated the diphtheria bacillus from throats of patients, grew it on a special medium ( laboratories today call this Loeffler’s serum slope to grow the bacteria from suspected cases ), and started carful experiments in animals that took a few years. His work recommended the bacteria themselves didn’t kill ; the danger came from a poison, diptherium, an acidic poison the bacteria excreted as a waste product from sugar metabolism. In 1885 Max von Pettenkofer maintained that Koch’s bacteria were just one of many factors in the origin of illness. His dispute with Koch became more sour and keen. Petterkofer driven to prove himself right, prepared test tubes thick with deadly cholera bacteria. Then he and one or two of his scholars drank them down. All survived. Petterkofer claimed victory that germs don’t cause illness. In 1889 Pasteur’s proteges, Emile Roux and Alexandre Yersin grew broth thick with diphtheria bacteria and used compressed air to persuade broth thru a filter of unglazed porcelain. The filter was designed by Charles Chamber land, a physicist working with Pasteur ; though only a tool, the filter itself would turn out to be enormously crucial. NO bacteria or solids could pass thru the porcelain. Only liquid could. They then sterilized this liquid.

It killed. That showed that bacteria, an insoluble couldn’t kill, but a soluble, an acidic poison did the Slaughtering . The cure from diphtheria wasn’t in slaughtering the bacteria but neutralizing the acids or excretions from the bacteria.

In 1900 Frederick Gates and intellect and Baptist Minister and an aid to John D.