Google Doodle Celebrates The Inventor of the Face Mask

Google on Wednesday is honoring Dr. Wu Lien-teh, a Chinese-Malaysian epidemiologist who created a surgical face covering widely believed to be the forerunner of today's N95 mask. To celebrate this achievement, Google dedicated its Doodle to Wu on the doctor's 142nd birthday. After becoming the first student of Chinese descent to study at Cambridge University, Wu went to work for the Chinese government, becoming vice director of the Army Medical College in 1908. When a highly lethal epidemic broke out in northwestern China in 1910, Wu was tasked by the government with investigating the disease, which he determined to be a highly contagious pneumonic plague.

The disease, which had a 99.9% fatality rate and would ultimately claim 60,000 lives, was being spread from human to human through respiratory transmission. To combat the spread, Wu developed a mask made of cotton and gauze to filter the air people inhaled. It's widely believed to be the ancestor to today's N95 mask, used to help keep people from contracting the coronavirus. With his leadership and direction, which included establishing quarantine stations, disinfecting buildings, and demolishing and replacing the old plague hospital, the epidemic known as the Manchurian plague was eradicated within months.

Credits:
https://www.cnet.com/news/google-doodle-celebrates-dr-wu-lien-teh-surgical-mask-pioneer/