Robert Koch — "I have no doubt that eventually we shall succeed in finding a specific remedy fo…"
I have no doubt that eventually we shall succeed in finding a specific remedy for tuberculosis.
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More from Robert Koch
"The fight against cholera is a fight against ignorance and prejudice."
"The fight against tuberculosis is hopeless unless we attack the germ directly."
"To conquer disease, we must first understand its nature."
"The fight against disease requires international cooperation."
"The fight against infectious diseases is the most important task of medicine."
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Success in defeating tuberculosis is not a matter of if, but when. The speaker expresses absolute confidence that persistent scientific inquiry will eventually yield a targeted cure — a specific treatment that works precisely against this disease. It reflects the mindset that difficult problems yield to rigorous method, and that uncertainty about timing should never be confused with uncertainty about ultimate outcome.
Relevance to Robert Koch
Koch had already identified Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 1882, proving it caused the disease — the hardest step. He believed germ theory would unlock targeted cures, not just vague remedies. His later tuberculin work, though flawed as a treatment, showed he was actively pursuing that specific remedy himself, not merely theorizing about its possibility.
The era
In the late 19th century, tuberculosis killed roughly one in seven people in Europe. Germ theory had just overturned miasma doctrine, and the new bacteriology movement promised medicine could finally move from symptom management to root-cause treatment. Koch spoke during the era's peak scientific optimism — before antibiotics existed but after causation was finally understood.
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