The 'greatest medical milestone' is Sanitation

Sanitation, the hygienic disposal or recycling of waste, has been named the greatest medical breakthrough since 1840 in a British Medical Journal (BMJ) poll.
The discovery of antibiotics finished in second place, with anaesthesia coming third in the survey of more than 11,000 people.
Other medical advances that made the shortlist of fifteen included the creation of the oral contraceptive pill and the development of vaccines.

Professor Johan Mackenbach, of Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said: "I'm delighted that sanitation is recognised by so many people as such an important milestone.
"The general lesson which still holds is that passive protection against health hazards is often the best way to improve population health."

The brains behind the sanitary revolution were John Snow, who showed that cholera was spread by water, and Edwin Chadwick, who came up with the idea of sewage disposal and piping water into homes.
Inadequate sanitation is still a major problem in the developing world. In 2001, unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene accounted for over 1.5 million deaths from diarrhoeal disease in low and middle-income countries.
"Clearly, sanitation still plays a vital role in improving public health now and in the future," Prof Mackenbach added.

Dr Fiona Godlee, BMJ editor, said: "The response to our poll has been overwhelming - it is deeply heartening to see science and medicine provoke such passion and debate.
"Selecting just one winner was always going to be difficult, but I’m delighted that the BMJ has helped to remind everyone of the great contribution that medicine and science has made to our lives now and in the future."
Also nominated for the accolade were immunology, medical imaging and oral rehydration therapy.

source:www.999today.com