Dr. Wu Lien-teh: mask pioneer who helped defeat an epidemic epidemic


Today’s Google doodle celebrates Wu Lien-Teh, an epidemiologist who pioneered the utilization of face masks to regulate a plague over a century before the arrival of covid-19.

Born in Penang, Malaysia, today in 1879 and educated within the UK, Wu was recruited to figure on a deadly disease outbreak in northeastern China in December 1910. the primary people to be affected were marmot trappers and fur traders, a part of a flourishing trade of marmot pelts within the region.


From an autopsy – the primary performed in China – Wu succeeded in isolating and culturing the bacterium liable for the disease, identifying it as Yersinia pestis, which was known from earlier plague epidemics.


We understood that the disease might be spread by respiratory droplets, and wasn't just caught from rats or fleas as many believed at the time.


We produced a mask made up of cotton and gauze, with extra layers of fabric and safer ties to enhance on previous designs. He encouraged medical staff et al. to wear it to guard themselves, the primary time widespread mask use had been a part of a plague control strategy. it had been met with some resistance, however: a French colleague died of the plague after refusing to wear a mask.

Wu advised authorities to impose restrictions on movement, including stopping trains, to limit the spread of the disease, and instruct sick people to self-isolate. He also persuaded officials to sanction the cremation of dead bodies, which wasn't normally accepted in China.


The last case of the disease was recorded in March 1911. It came to be referred to as the Manchurian plague, and it killed an estimated 60,000 people.


We chaired a world conference on the plague that year, helping disseminate knowledge about the way to answer outbreaks. The epidemic helped to convince China’s leaders of the necessity for a contemporary public health service, and Wu help establishes it in numerous roles before returning to Malaysia in 1937.