Ignaz Semmelweis

Who Was Ignaz Semmelweis?

Who?

Ignaz Semmlweis was a hungarian physician.

What Was He Known for?

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted

What?

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis was a Hungarian gynecologist who is known as a pioneer of antiseptic procedures. Semmelweis discovered that puerperal (childbed) fever, could be drastically cut by hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. While Semmelweis was working at Vienna General Hospital, he noticed one clinic had an average maternal mortality rate of about 10% due to puerperal fever, while the second clinic's rate was a lot lower, averaging less than 4%. The only difference was the people who worked there in the clinics. One clinic was the teaching site for medical students, while the other clinic was ran by midwives only. During the postmortem examination of Semmelweis's good friend Jakob Kolletschka, a student accidentally poked Kolletschka with a scalpel. Kolletschka’s autopsy showed a pathology similar to that of the women who died from puerperal fever. Semmelweis immediately made a connection between cadaveric contamination and puerperal fever. He concluded that he and the medical students carried “cadaverous particles” on their hands from the autopsy room to the patients they examined in the first clinic. This is why the women in the second clinic who were cared for by midwives had a much lower mortality rate because they did not come into contact with cadavers. He instituted a policy of using a chlorinated lime solution for washing hands between autopsy work and the examination of patients. After they started washing their hands in the solution, the mortality rate fell to about 2%.

When Was the Discovery Made?

The breakthrough occurred in 1847, following the death of his friend Jakob Kolletschka, who had been accidentally poked with a student’s scalpel while performing a postmortem examination.

When?

Where Was Semmelweis From and Where Did His Discovery Happen?

Where?

• Ignaz Semmelweis was born July 1, 1818, in Buda, Hungary, Austrian Empire (now Budapest, Hungary).
• Semmelweis discovered the cause of puerperal (childbed) fever in the Vienna General Hospital, Vienna, Austria.

Why Is He Significant to Microbiology?

Ignaz Semmelweis (the pioneer of antiseptic procedures) is significant to microbiology because he discovered that washing your hands with an antiseptic solution in between patients could drastically cut the spread of childbed fever and other diseases.

Why?

How Have Semmelweis' Discoveries Impacted Healthcare/Patient Care?

How?

Semmelweis discovered that infection control is essential to limit the spread of infection. Cross-infection of patients by the contaminated hands of healthcare workers is a major method of spreading infectious agents. Semmelweis discovered hygiene to be the single most important factor for infection control.