Puerperal fever is not carried from patient to patient on doctors' hands, so hand disinfection is unnecessary.

Not a fact anymore

Puerperal fever is not carried from patient to patient on doctors' hands, so hand disinfection is unnecessary.

What we know now

Puerperal fever is usually a bacterial infection. Medical staff can transmit infectious material between patients, and effective hand hygiene is a core measure for preventing healthcare-associated infection.

Why it changed

Ignaz Semmelweis observed far higher maternal mortality in a clinic staffed by doctors and students who also performed autopsies. Requiring hand disinfection with chlorinated lime sharply reduced deaths, and later germ theory explained why the intervention worked.

Status: Overturned
Category: Medicine
Accepted approximately: Early to mid-19th century
Changed approximately: 1840s–1880s

Semmelweis did not yet possess a modern germ theory and initially described the cause as cadaveric material carried from autopsy rooms. His intervention was nevertheless effective.

The change was gradual. Broad acceptance depended on later work in microbiology and antiseptic surgery.

Evidence

Sources and what they establish

Historical context

Historical perspective on hand hygiene in health care World Health Organization via NCBI Bookshelf
Reviews Semmelweis's observations and the introduction of chlorinated handwashing.
Pioneering Hand Hygiene: Ignaz Semmelweis and the Fight Against Puerperal Fever PubMed Central
Explains the opposition Semmelweis faced despite the reduction in mortality.

Current evidence

Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Explains the role of hand hygiene in preventing transmission of pathogens in healthcare.