Lister had only just begun working in his role as dresser to Erichsen in January 1851, when an epidemic of erysipelas broke out in the male ward. An infected patient from an Islington workhouse was left in Erichsen's surgical ward for two hours. The hospital had been free of infection but within days there were twelve cases of infection and four deaths. In his notebook, Lister stated that the disease was a form of surgical fever, and particularly noted that recent surgical patients were infected the worst, but that those with older surgeries with suppurating wounds, 'mostly escaped'. It was while Lister worked for Erichsen, that his interest in the healing of wounds began. Erichsen was a miasmist who thought the wounds became infected from miasmas from the wound itself that caused a noxious form of "bad air" that spread to other patients in the ward. Erichsen believed that seven patients with an infected wound had saturated of the ward with "bad air", which spread to cause gangrene. However Lister saw that some wounds, when debrided and cleaned, would sometimes heal. He believed that something in the wound itself was at fault.
lister had only just begun working in his role as dresser to erichsen in january 1851 when an epidemic of erysipelas broke out in the male ward an infected patient from an islington workhouse was left in erichsen's surgical ward for two hours the hospital had been free of infection but within days there were twelve cases of infection and four deaths in his notebook lister stated that the disease was a form of surgical fever and particularly noted that recent surgical patients were infected the worst but that those with older surgeries with suppurating wounds 'mostly escaped' it was while lister worked for erichsen that his interest in the healing of wounds began erichsen was a miasmist who thought the wounds became infected from miasmas from the wound itself that caused a noxious form of "bad air" that spread to other patients in the ward erichsen believed that seven patients with an infected wound had saturated of the ward with "bad air" which spread to cause gangrene however lister saw that some wounds when debrided and cleaned would sometimes heal he believed that something in the wound itself was at fault