Miasma  

"The uproar about the odors of Paris was abundant proof of the rapid spread of Pasteur's discoveries. In 1880 none of the experts challenged the new theories. The scientific community no longer believed in miasma. Spontaneous generation no longer had any defenders. Once they had become convinced that infectious germs transmitted disease, scientists no longer associated unpleasant odor with the morbific threat. "We can repeat that everything that stinks does not kill, and everything that kills does not stink," declared the conservative Brouardel during the debate." The following year, the Dictionnaire Dechambre confirmed the pathogenic discrediting of smell."--The Foul and the Fragrant (1982) by Alain Corbin