Who proposed the germ theory of disease

Germ theory of disease states that many diseases are caused by microorganisms. The germ theory was proposed by Girolamo Fracastoro in 1546, and expanded upon by Marcus von Plenciz in 1762. The observations and actions of Ignaz Semmelweis, Joseph Lister and John Snow would retrospectively be acknowledged as contributing to the acceptance of germ theory. But it was the laboratory researches of Louis Pasteur in the 1860s and then Robe Koch in the following decades that provided the scientific proof for germ theory. Their work opened the door to research into the identification of disease-causing germs and potential life-saving treatments. Ref: