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http:
www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/nyregion/hospitals-struggle-to-get-workers-to-wash-their-hands.html?pagewanted=all

It is sobering to what lengths we have to go to get the small percentage of
medical workers (mostly doctors, it seems) to thoroughly wash their hands
to help stop the transmission of resistant stains of bacteria (or resistant
strains to be) in hospitals.

In the 19 century child birth fever was a killer of new borne babies and
their others. A Dr Ignaz Philipp *Semmelweis*  at great political effort
put bowls of carbolic acid (a potent disinfectant ) outside of every room
in the maternity ward. Child birth fever deaths plummeted to near zero as
all personnel were forced to wash their hands with it. However, he lost the
battle and the bowls were removed (doctors were insulted that they were
perceived as carriers of the "germs") and deaths rode to previous highs.
The personnel who go to lengths to avoid the cameras remind me of this.

Martin

-- 
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Martin Weiss, PhD
Senior Scientist
New York Hall of Science
mweiss at nyscience.org
cell   347-460-1858
desk 718 595 9516

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