Germ Theory of Disease
First developed by Louis Pasteur along with Robert Koch, the Germ Theory of Disease states that a specific disease is caused by a specific micro-organism. This concept made it possible to prevent the outbreak and control the spread of many serious diseases, such as rabies, throughout history.
In a laboratory setting, understanding and respecting the Germ Theory of Disease is important as well, because disease can adversely affect research. One of the roles of the ARC is to PREVENT the spread of disease.
The ARC has established several rules and regulations to help maintain a disease-free environment, including the use of personal protective equipment, procedural and animal handling guidelines and various levels of containment available depending on the type of research being performed.
Updated June 26, 2007 by SAK