Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1262303
Page 32 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com One of the front-line defenses individuals have against the spread of the coronavirus can feel decidedly low-tech: hand- washing. In fact, it was 19th-century Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis who, after observational studies, first advanced the idea of "hand hygiene" in medical settings. The simple act of hand-washing is a critical way to prevent the spread of germs. Here's how Semmelweis, working in an obstetrics ward in Vienna in the 19th century, made the connection between dirty hands and deadly infection. Benefits of cleanliness The history of hand-washing extends back to ancient times, when it was largely a faith-based practice. The Old Testament, the Talmud and the Quran all mention hand-washing in the context of ritual cleanliness. Ritual hand-washing appears to have come with public health implications. During the Black Death of the 14th century, for instance, the Jews of Europe had a distinctly lower rate of death than others. Researchers believe that hand-washing prescribed by their religion probably served as protection during the epidemic. Hand-washing as a health care prerogative, did not really surface until the mid-1800s, when a young Hungarian physician named Ignaz Semmelweis did an important observational study at Vienna General Hospital. Semmelweis graduated with a medical degree from the University of Vienna in 1844. He practiced obstetrics, By Kitsap Sun a relatively new area for physicians, previously dominated by midwifery. He began working in the obstetrics division of the Vienna Hospital on July 1, 1846. The leading cause of maternal mortality in Europe at that time was puerperal fever – an infection, now known to be caused by the streptococcus bacterium, that killed postpartum women. Prior to 1823, about 1 in 100 women died in childbirth at the Vienna Hospital. But after a policy change mandated that medical students and obstetricians perform autopsies in addition to their other duties, the mortality rate for new mothers suddenly jumped to 7.5%. What was going on? Eventually, the Vienna Hospital opened a second obstetrics division, to be staffed entirely by midwives. The older, First Division, to which Semmelweis was assigned, was staffed only by physicians and medical students. Rather quickly it became apparent that the mortality rate in the first division was much higher than the second. Semmelweis examined all the similarities and differences of the two divisions. The only significant difference was that male doctors and medical students delivered in the first division and female midwives in the second. Washing away germs from the dead Remember that at this time, the general belief was that bad odors – miasma – transmitted disease. It would be two more decades at least before germ theory – the idea that microbes cause disease – gained traction. Semmelweis cracked the puerperal fever mystery after the death of his friend and colleague, pathologist Jakob Kolletschka. Kolletschka died after receiving a scalpel wound while performing an autopsy on a woman who'd died of puerperal fever. His autopsy revealed massive infection from puerperal fever. Contagiousness now established, Semmelweis concluded that if his friend's "general sepsis arose from the inoculation of cadaver particles, then puerperal fever must In appreciation: doctor who "discovered" hand-washing