New Google Doodle honours handwashing pioneer

In light of COVID-19 outbreak Google Doodle recognizes Dr Ignaz Semmelweis

Google has debuted a new doodle to promote hand washing. The new animated Google Doodle demonstrates the proper way to wash your hands to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The doodle recognizes Hungarian physician Dr Ignaz Semmelweis, widely known as the first person to discover the medical benefits of handwashing.



The video which accompanies the doodle shows the proper way to clean your hands which is highly recommended by WHO.

In light of the global COVID-19 outbreak, today’s #GoogleDoodle recognizes Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, widely known as the first person to suggest the life-saving benefits of handwashing 👐💧

Learn proper @WHO recommended handwashing techniques → https://t.co/xItSgCM5I6pic.twitter.com/6lhfcBqDGV

— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) March 20, 2020

On this day in 1847, Semmelweis was appointed Chief Resident in the maternity clinic of the Vienna General Hospital, where he introduced and demonstrated that requiring doctors to disinfect their hands immensely reduced the transmission of disease.

PHOTO: Google

He directed all medical staff to wash their hands in between patient examinations, and as a result, infection rates in his division reduced.

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However, his ideas were met with great skepticism but decades later his recommendations are not only followed but validated by medical professionals based on the “germ theory of disease.”

"Today, Semmelweis is widely remembered as “the father of infection control,” credited with revolutionizing not just obstetrics, but the medical field itself, informing generations beyond his own that handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of diseases," Google wrote in its blog.