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Vitamin C was discovered using guinea pigs in 1907, and because, like humans, it requires this vitamin in its diet, the guinea pig has been used ever since in its study. Most other animals synthesise their own vitamin C. Following this early use, many other areas of nutrition have been studied in the guinea pig.
The German scientist Robert Koch used guinea pigs to discover that TB was caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in 1882. The sensitivity of the guinea pig to this and other infections, and the similarities of its immune defence system to that of humans, has made it important in the study of infectious diseases.
More info on Understanding Animals.
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