Medicine in stamps-Ignaz Semmelweis and Puerperal Fever

Abstract

Puerperal fever was common in mid-19 th -century hospitals and often fatal, with mortality at 10%-35%. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis was a Hungarian gynecologist who is known as a pioneer of antiseptic procedures. Semmelweis discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. He is also described as the "savior of mothers" and "father of infection control". This paper provides an overview on the process of preventing puerperal fever and the life story of the physician behind this attempt, Ignaz Semmelweis, through philately. (J Turkish-German Gynecol Assoc 2013; 14: 35-9) Key words: Ignaz Semmelweis, puerperal fever, infection, history, philately Received: 15 January, 2013 Accepted: 14 February, 2013 19. yüzyıl ortalarında, hastanelerde lohusalık humması oldukça sık görülen, %10-35 arasındaki ölüm oranlarıyla genellikle fatal seyreden bir hastalıktı. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, antiseptik uygulamaların ön-cüsü olarak bilinen Macar jinekologtur ve jinekoloji kliniklerinde el dezenfeksiyonunun sağlanmasıyla birlikte lohusalık humması oranlarının düşürülebileceğini keşfetmiştir. Kendisi aynı zamanda "annelerin kurtarıcısı" ve "enfeksiyon kontrolünün babası" olarak da tanınır. Bu çalışma,filateli aracılığıyla lohusalık hummasının önlenmesi süre-cine ve bu sirecin arkasındaki hekim olan Ignaz Semmelweis'ın hayatına genel bir bakış sunmayı hedeflemektedir.

“No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”: Ignaz Semmelweis and the Story of Puerperal Fever

“…Broken by this, Semmelweis secretly escaped from Vienna to Pest on October of the same year, and found a job without pay as an obstetrician at the small St. Rochus Hospital 7 . From the date of his arrival in 1851 until his departure in 1857 mortality from puerperal fever in that small hospital dropped to less than 1% 8 …”

“…7 From the date of his arrival in 1851 until his departure in 1857 mortality from puerperal fever in that small hospital dropped to less than 1%. 8 In October 1860, Semmelweis published his wordy magnum opus, 9 which was largely ignored, driving him to desperately seek other means of distributing his iconoclastic findings: He wrote frantic, abusive letters to his fellow obstetricians urging them to stop participating in the "massacre." 10 His desperate struggle could not alter any physician's mind, except perhaps his own-Semmelweis's mental health was deteriorating.…”

How to Evaluate the Science of Non-human Animal Use in Biomedical Research and Testing: A Proposed Format for Debate

“…Despite the fact that his patients demonstrated a reduced mortality rate after he and his students began washing their hands, his colleagues ostracized him, and his idea died along with many more patients. Had experts been convened to study and debate the evidence, antiseptic techniques would have been developed much sooner and many mothers' lives would have been saved (Ataman, Vatanoğlu-Lutz, and Yıldırım, 2013). Other prominent examples of scientific breakthroughs being ignored include the following: Barbara McClintock's idea of jumping genes, transposons, was ignored by a mostly male establishment in biology.…”

Happy Birthday Ignác Semmelweiss! Now, Let's All Wash Our Hands!

“…In 1965, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed Semmelweis’ 100th anniversary of this death as the Semmelweis Memorial Year. In 1969 the university for medicine and health‐related disciplines in Budapest was renamed Semmelweis University, and several other institutions carry his name as well, such as the Semmelweis Klinik, a hospital for women located in Vienna, Austria, and Semmelweis Hospital in Miskolc, Hungary . Semmelweiss has been a popular subject for postage stamps in Hungary as well as Austria, Germany (East and West), Grenada and Transkei, with an example shown in Figure .…”

“…In 1969 the university for medicine and health‐related disciplines in Budapest was renamed Semmelweis University, and several other institutions carry his name as well, such as the Semmelweis Klinik, a hospital for women located in Vienna, Austria, and Semmelweis Hospital in Miskolc, Hungary . Semmelweiss has been a popular subject for postage stamps in Hungary as well as Austria, Germany (East and West), Grenada and Transkei, with an example shown in Figure . He has also appeared on commemorative coinage issued by Hungary and Austria, the most recent being a 2018 issue illustrating hand‐washing (Figure ).…”