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From the 20^th to the 21^st of March 2020, Ignaz Semmelweis was honoured via a Doodle associated with a search engine. As the world fights against the COVID-19, it is even more apt that the Hungarian obstetrician is acknowledged in an educational yet fun way – to create awareness and stress the importance of hand hygiene in controlling the spread of infectious diseases.

Renowned for his research and theories on childbed fever first linked to maternity wards, he originally studied law but eventually opted for medicine instead. Doctors and nurses were first taught the practice of handwashing in the 19^th century at the Vienna General Hospital in Austria, where he was based. Though basic, the practice was often mocked by his colleagues and those known to him. Many were sceptical of his ideas and thoughts that he had to move to Budapest.

Other ways, besides the Doodle, to commemorate him include:-

• A postage stamp, as part of the Famous Hungarian series, was issued by Hungary in July 1932.
• The 250-year-old Semmelweis University, offering courses in medicine and health, based in Hungary.
• That Mothers Might Live, the 1938 film that earned an Oscar for the Best Short Film
• The Cry and the Covenant, the 1949 novel (fiction) by Morton Thompson
• The Semmelweis Klinik, a hospital with a focus on women’s health, in Vienna, Austria.

Here’s the cute video you should (re-) watch:-

How many steps are you missing?
I know I keep forgetting steps 4 and 5.