Florence Nightingale (Figure 16.7). Reprinted from OpenStax Microbiology (p. 300), by N. Parker, M. Shneegurt, A.-h. Thi Tu, B. M. Forester, and P. Lister, 2016, Rice University. Copyright 2016 by Rice University.

Florence Nightingale Portrait

A British nurse considered  to be the founder of modern nursing; She carried out early epidemiological studies by keeping detailed records of soldiers' causes and deaths during the Crimean War and analyzed the data using histograms. Her data showed that most of the deaths could be attributed to preventable infectious diseases, leading to many hospital reforms in the British medical system.

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University of Notre Dame

Pioneers in epidemiology include:
- John Snow
- Florence Nightingale
- Ignaz Semmelweis
- Joseph Lister
- Robert Koch
- Louis Pasteur

Pioneers in Epidemiology

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The "Father of epidemiology"; Found the source of the 1854 Broad Street cholera epidemic. He hypothesized that microbe was the infectious agent and the source of the outbreak was due to fecal-oral transmission, supporting the germ theory of disease. Upon investigation, Snow found that choleric individuals were being infected from the same contaminated water source and mapping and traced the area of high incidence to a specific water pump on Broad Street, which was fed by a common source spread. This finding led to a public health response in removing the pump and thus containing the epidemic.

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John Snow

Florence Nightingale

Robert Koch was a German scientist that was the first person to discover the connection between a single microbe and a human disease. He is credited with the discovery of  Bacillus anthracis, Vibrio cholera, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He also developed 4 postulates (rules) that must be proven in order to show that an organism causes disease

Robert Koch

In 1867, in an attempt to lower deaths due to postsurgical infections, Joseph Lister began to use disinfectant sprays during surgery. He also developed post operative care procedures and began sterilizing surgical equipment. He was extremely successful and this became the standard practice in all medical settings

Joseph Lister

in 1847 obstetrician Ignaz Semmelweis noticed that women who gave birth in hospitals were more likely to die from infection than women who gave birth in midwife centers. He theorized that this was due to medical providers preforming autopsies and then giving vaginal exams without washing their hands in between patients. When he suggested they start washing their hands, mortality rates dropped from 10-20% to 1%.

Ignaz Semmelweis

Louis Pasteur was a very prominent chemist who is credited with many advancements. He discovered pasteurization, studied the wine spoilage and fermentation, and was ultimately the one to disprove spontaneous generation with his famous s-shaped flask experiment. 

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