Google Doodle honours 'father of infection control' Ignaz Semmelweis

Google in its Doodle for March 20 has honoured Ignaz Semmelweis, who first discovered the lifesaving power of clean hands way back in the 1840s when high mortality rates in new mothers were common across Europe.

Google says that Semmelweis has helped prevent the deaths of millions of people from disease and infection — and provided us with one of the best tactics to fight COVID-19.

The doctor laid the groundwork for modern public health methods in the 1847s. He gave people the awareness that handwashing prevents diseases but he faced serious opposition from his contemporaries at the time.

"Today, Semmelweis is widely remembered as the father of infection control, credited with revolutionising 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," said Google in its tribute.