Health & biology · 1847

Handwashing in hospitals

Ignaz Semmelweis cut maternal deaths from about 18 to under 2 percent with chlorine handwashing.

In Vienna in 1847 Semmelweis linked childbed fever to doctors coming from autopsies and ordered chlorinated-lime handwashing. His data were largely ignored until germ theory explained them.

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What it built on 2

Controlled clinical trial 1747
Microorganisms discovered 1676

What it led to 1

Germ theory of disease 1861

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Maternal mortality in the UK since 1847 Latest: 9.84 deaths per 100,000 births (2020) Source: Our World in Data

Life expectancy in the UK since 1543 Latest: 81.3 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data

Child mortality (under 5) Latest: 3.74 % (2024) Source: Our World in Data