Semmelweisin

Semmelweisin is a term derived from the name Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician often hailed as the father of infection control. He worked in the mid-19th century at the Vienna General Hospital, where he observed a stark difference in mortality rates between two maternity clinics. One clinic, staffed by doctors and medical students, had a significantly higher incidence of puerperal fever, commonly known as childbed fever, a deadly infection that affected women after childbirth.

Semmelweis meticulously investigated the causes of this discrepancy. He noticed that doctors and students often came directly from performing autopsies to examining patients without adequate hand hygiene. In contrast, the second clinic, staffed by midwives, had lower mortality rates, as they did not perform autopsies. Based on his observations, Semmelweis hypothesized that "cadaverous particles" were being transmitted from the autopsy room to the maternity ward, causing the infections.

In 1847, he implemented a policy requiring medical staff to wash their hands with a chlorinated lime solution before examining patients. The results were dramatic. The mortality rate in the first clinic plummeted, becoming comparable to that of the second clinic. Despite the clear evidence, Semmelweis's findings were met with resistance and ridicule from the established medical community, who were offended by the implication that they were responsible for their patients' deaths. His ideas were largely rejected, and he was eventually dismissed from his post. Tragically, Semmelweis suffered a mental breakdown and died in an asylum, never witnessing the widespread acceptance of his groundbreaking work, which later formed the foundation for modern antiseptic procedures.