In 1872, Robert Koch, who would later become a renowned micro­biologist, was named the District Medical Officer in Wollstein (now Wolsztyn in Poland), where an anthrax outbreak was running rampant at the time. The disease was known even back in antiquity when it was called “sacred fire”: people thought that only furious gods could have sent such a scourge to Earth. Anthrax was a threat to all agricultural settlements — more often than not, livestock were infected. However, animals were not the only ones to die: the illness also claimed the lives of farmers, shepherds, and milkmaids.