The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever

by O W Holmes

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Do you know anyone who has died of puerperal fever? Probably not, thanks to this groundbreaking essay published by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1843. With great passion and intelligence, Holmes sets forth his revolutionary argument on the prevention of an illness, which had claimed the lives of new mothers in epidemic proportions. Though his findings were not accepted until years later, Holmes' seminal work can serve as a model for the presentation of life-changing medical research.

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OshoOsho 1,079 reviews

I'm on a disease and public health kick, and I love me some Ignaz Semmelweis, so I was pleased to find this monograph by Oliver Wendell Holmes,arguing for the contagiousness of puerperal fever some years before Semmelweis. Both men were ridiculed and ignored, leaving it to Louis Pasteur to demonstrate convincingly and to public acclaim that medical personnel were transmitting germs from patient (or corpse) to patient. Holmes uses cases and anecdotes to bolster his argument, making this a vivid and interesting monograph.

Mar 30, 2013

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