Ignaz Semmelweis | |
|---|---|
 Semmelweis, aged 42 in 1860, photograph by Borsos and Doctor | |
| Born | Semmelweis Ignác Fülöp 1 July 1818 |
| Died | 13 August 1865 (aged 47) Oberdöbling, Austrian Empire (now Vienna, Austria) |
| Citizenship | Kingdom of Hungary |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Known for | Introducing hand disinfection standards, in obstetrical clinics, from 1847 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Obstetrics, surgeries |
| Institutions | Vienna General Hospital, Szent Rókus Kórház |
| Spouse |
Mária Weidenhofer (m. 1857) |
| Children | 5 |
Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (German: [ˈɪɡnaːts ˈzɛml̩vaɪs]; Hungarian: Semmelweis Ignác Fülöp [ˈsɛmmɛlvɛjs ˈiɡnaːts ˈfyløp]; 1 July 1818 – 13 August 1865) was a Hungarian physician and scientist of German descent who was an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures and was described as the "saviour of mothers".[2] Postpartum infection, also known as puerperal fever or childbed fever, consists of any bacterial infection of the reproductive tract following birth and in the 19th century was common and often fatal. Semmelweis discovered that the incidence of infection could be drastically reduced by requiring healthcare workers in obstetrical clinics to disinfect their hands. In 1847, he proposed hand washing with chlorinated lime solutions at Vienna General Hospital's First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors' wards had three times the mortality of midwives' wards.[3] The maternal mortality rate dropped from 18% to less than 2%, and he published a book of his findings, Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever, in 1861.
Despite his research, Semmelweis's observations conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community. He could offer no theoretical explanation for his findings of reduced mortality due to hand-washing, and some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands and mocked him for it. In 1865, the increasingly outspoken Semmelweis allegedly suffered a nervous breakdown and was committed to an asylum by his colleagues. In the asylum, he was beaten by the guards. He died 14 days later from a gangrenous wound on his right hand that may have been caused by the beating.[4]
His findings earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory, giving Semmelweis' observations a theoretical explanation, and Joseph Lister, acting on Pasteur's research, practised and operated using hygienic methods with great success.
- ^ Ataman, Vatanoğlu-Lutz & Yıldırım 2013, pp. 35–39.
- ^ Semmelweis Society International.
- ^ Hanninen, Farago & Monos 1983.
- ^ Carter & Carter 2005, pp. 76–78.