SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and the Teaching of Ignaz Semmelweis and Florence Nightingale: a Lesson of Public Health from History, after the "Introduction of Handwashing" (1847).
J Prev Med Hyg
; 62(3): E621-E624, 2021 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1574980
ABSTRACT
Ignác Fülöp Semmelweis (1818-1865) and Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) were two important personalities in the history of medicine and public health. They dealt with the problem of handwashing. Semmelweis is also known as the "father of hand hygiene"; just in 1847 he discovered the etiology and prophylaxis of puerperal sepsis and imposed a new rule mandating handwashing with chlorine for doctors. He also tried to persuade European scientific community of the advantages of handwashing. During the Crimean War, in Scutary (Turkey), Florence Nightingale strengthened handwashing and other hygiene practices in the war hospital where she worked and her handwashing practices reached a reductions in infections. Unfortunately the hygiene practices promoted by Semmelweis and Nightingale were not widely adopted. In general handwashing promotion stood still for over a century. During current pandemic SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) one of the most important way to prevent the spread of the virus is still to wash the hands frequently.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Puerperal Infection
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Etiology study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
J Prev Med Hyg
Journal subject:
Public Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
2421-4248
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