AntiViral Ep. 6: The Dark Truth Behind Germ Theory

Fraud, Fear, and the Foundations of Germ “Theory”

Explore the dark origins of the germ “theory” of disease in this latest episode of the AntiViral series. Most people assume that disease causation is a settled scientific matter. Modern accounts often portray Louis Pasteur as having conclusively “proved” the germ hypothesis in the late 19th century. However, far fewer people are familiar with how Pasteur actually obtained his evidence, or with the serious controversies surrounding his work.

Pasteur’s own notebooks, made public after his death, reveal that he frequently adjusted or withheld experimental details to better align results with his expectations. He instructed his family never to release these private notes, which later contradicted key public claims.

Historical records further show that:

• Pasteur appropriated competing ideas in developing his anthrax vaccine.
• During a public anthrax trial, he used chemically attenuated material despite claiming the vaccine was weakened by oxygen exposure.
• He falsely reported that his rabies vaccine had been successfully tested on 50 dogs prior to its first human use.
• No controlled animal experiments demonstrated the safety or efficacy of the rabies vaccine before human trials began.
• Pasteur was unable to reliably transmit rabies using saliva or blood from rabid animals.
• Consistent disease reproduction occurred only after injecting diseased brain tissue directly into the brains of healthy animals.
• When vaccinated individuals later developed rabies-like illness, critics accused Pasteur of inducing the disease itself.
• In response, Pasteur argued that fear alone could produce rabies symptoms in humans absent any exposure.

There is far more complexity than can be addressed in a short video, but this episode offers an introduction to the historical record and raises important questions about how scientific narratives are constructed, defended, and remembered.

For more on the unethical and unscientific practices employed by Louis Pasteur, please see my articles Louis Pasteur’s Unethical Rabies Fraud and The Germ Hypothesis Part 1: Pasteur’s Problems.