Earliest Discovery of Germs/Bacteria/Cells/Vaccines

What is the Earliest Discovery of Germs/Bacteria/Cells/Vaccines?


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I was thinking about how far medicine has come in the last 200 years. That the discovery of the title items have led to a medical revolution, in the way we fight/deal with disease and injuries.

The discovery of germs\bacteria has totally changed how we handle surgery, operations or treatment. Proper hygiene techniques have saved potentially billions of lives since it's discovery.

It got me thinking about what massive changes could have taken place in Human history, if prior to something like the Black Death, we knew how the disease spread? Or that doctors should wash their hands prior to childbirth. That in turn made me start to wonder how early a date would the discovery of these items be possible?
 
You need microscopes. So you will need to move lenses back. Maybe look at China not developing fine china crockery so early and so develop good glass much earlier.
 
You need microscopes. So you will need to move lenses back. Maybe look at China not developing fine china crockery so early and so develop good glass much earlier.

Maybe China developed, and keeps, a strong naval tradition? That would foster the development of telescopes, which requires decent glass making techniques.
 
Whilst the first three require lenses to be invented vaccines just needs someone to realise that people sick with one illness don't get sick with another worse one and then experiment with that. It does mean though that people will need to have been studying sickness and at least a low level scientific method.
 
It does mean though that people will need to have been studying sickness and at least a low level scientific method.
That doesn't seem entirely out if the question, various "proto-scientific" modes of thinking were around in europe and the near east for a good while. Perhaps some monk/doctor (roles that very much overlapped in the medieval period) grows dissatisfied with Galen and decides to start from scratch?
 
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