Final answer:
Humans took a long time to connect microbes with infectious diseases due to several factors, such as small and scattered human populations, lack of scientific understanding, and the belief that diseases were spiritual punishments. The discovery of microbes changed human understanding of disease and led to the development of microbiology and epidemiology.
Step-by-step explanation:
It took a long time for humans to connect microbes with infectious diseases due to several factors. One reason is that many pathogenic microorganisms require a large population to exist, and in ancient times, human populations were small and scattered. Additionally, the true cause of diseases was not understood until modern scientific thought developed, and many people believed diseases were a spiritual punishment. Furthermore, the discovery of microbes and their role in causing diseases greatly changed human understanding of disease and led to the development of microbiology and epidemiology.