Ignaz Semmelweis

Ignaz Semmelweis

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". 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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Ignaz Semmelweis has received more than 3,547,204 page views. His biography is available in 65 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 64 in 2019). Ignaz Semmelweis is the 17th most popular physician (down from 5th in 2019), the 14th most popular biography from Hungary (down from 2nd in 2019) and the most popular Hungarian Physician.

Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician who discovered that doctors could reduce the number of women dying in childbirth by washing their hands with a chlorine solution before delivering babies.