Hong Kong Training Portal on
Infection Control and Infectious Disease

Hand hygiene is a cornerstone in infection control. The origin of this effective practice comes from the Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis. In the year 1847, he discovered that the incidence of pueperal fever could be drastically reduced by hand disinfection with chlorinated lime solutions in obstetric clinics. Since then, more scientific evidence has shown that transmission of infectious diseases could be prevented if we keep our hands clean.