Contagion in the 21st Century
The science and public health engineering behind controlling past epidemics has profoundly shaped our response to current pandemics like COVID-19. Much of the early work around identifying and responding to infectious diseases was done by Robert Koch, a German physician and bacteriologist, who discovered the cycle of the anthrax disease as well as the causative agents of tuberculosis and cholera.
This exhibit contained photographs and simulations courtesy of the Museum at the Robert Koch Institute. It took us through the various places around the world where Robert Koch made his pioneering discoveries, and provoked us to reflect on how our responses to infectious diseases continue to evolve through time.
About the Scholar
Esther-Maria Antao heads the Museum at the Robert Koch Institute and is in charge of the advancement of the Museum in accordance with ongoing developments of the Institute. She communicates with the general and expert public through guided museum tours offered to visitor groups. As part of the project group, Science Communication, she is responsible for visual communication and graphic design, as well as its social media presence and that of the Museum. She has a doctorate in microbiology and has focused strongly on antibiotic resistance communication in the recent past.
