Women in the doctors’ maternity ward died from puerperal fever at rates up to 18 percent, far higher than in the midwives’ ward.
His story is contained in this book along with some other interesting articles: None of These Diseases: The Bible’s Health Secrets for the 21st Century: McMillen, S. I. M.D., Stern, David E. M.D.: 9780800575199: Amazon.com: Books
The History Archives
In 1847, Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis noticed something disturbing at Vienna General Hospital.
Women in the doctors’ maternity ward died from puerperal fever at rates up to 18 percent, far higher than in the midwives’ ward.
He observed doctors moving straight from autopsies to deliveries without cleaning their hands.
Semmelweis theorized that particles from cadavers were causing the infections.
He required staff to wash hands with chlorinated lime solution before exams.
The mortality rate dropped to just over 1 percent within months.
But his colleagues rejected the idea, offended by the suggestion they spread disease.
Semmelweis grew increasingly frustrated and confrontational.
By 1865, his behavior led to commitment in a mental institution.
He died there from a gangrenous wound, likely from his confinement.
His handwashing discovery laid groundwork for modern antiseptics.
Though ignored in life, it gained acceptance later with germ theory.#MedicalHistory #HandHygiene #PublicHealth
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