Infection is a basic fact of nature, and new diseases have been evolving almost as long as life itself, according to Arno Karlen, author of Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History and Modern Times.
Chlorine-based disinfectants were first used in a Vienna maternity ward in 1847 by Dr. Ignaz Semmelweiss to control outbreaks of childbed fever. Today chlorine disinfectants are well-regarded allies in the continuous battle against infectious disease; they are used to destroy germs in homes, healthcare settings, schools, restaurants and food-processing facilities.