Many school children can recite the basics. Penicillin was discovered in London in September of As the story goes, Dr. Alexander Fleming, the bacteriologist on duty at St.
Upon examining some colonies of Staphylococcus aureus, Dr. Fleming noted that a mold called Penicillium notatum had contaminated his Petri dishes. After carefully placing the dishes under his microscope, he was amazed to find that the mold prevented the normal growth of the staphylococci. Sir Alexander Fleming — , studying a test tube culture with a hand lens. It took Fleming a few more weeks to grow enough of the persnickety mold so that he was able to confirm his findings. His conclusions turned out to be phenomenal: there was some factor in the Penicillium mold that not only inhibited the growth of the bacteria but, more important, might be harnessed to combat infectious diseases.
As Dr. But I guess that was exactly what I did. Fourteen years later, in March , Anne Miller became the first civilian patient to be successfully treated with penicillin, lying near death at New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, after miscarrying and developing an infection that led to blood poisoning.
Actually, Fleming had neither the laboratory resources at St. That task fell to Dr. He was a master at extracting research grants from tight-fisted bureaucrats and an absolute wizard at administering a large laboratory filled with talented but quirky scientists. Soon after, Florey and his colleagues assembled in his well-stocked laboratory. A petri-dish of penicillin showing its inhibitory effect on some bacteria but not on others.
Chain was an abrupt, abrasive and acutely sensitive man who fought constantly with Florey over who deserved credit for developing penicillin. Despite their battles, they produced a series of crude penicillium-mold culture fluid extracts.
During the summer of , their experiments centered on a group of 50 mice that they had infected with deadly streptococcus. Half the mice died miserable deaths from overwhelming sepsis. The others, which received penicillin injections, survived.
Fleming A. On the antibacterial action of cultures of a penicillium, with special reference to their use in the isolation of B. British Journal of Experimental Pathology. Haven KF. Marvels of Science: 50 Fascinating 5-Minute Reads. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited; Healio News Endocrinology. Issue: August By Katie Kalvaitis.
Perspective from Theodore C. Eickhoff, MD. View Issue. Source: Fleming A. On the antibacterial action of cultures of a penicillium, with special reference to their use in the isolation ofB. Read next. August 10, Receive an email when new articles are posted on. Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on. You've successfully added to your alerts.
Why had it taken so long for the drug, which was already being tested in the U. Even in , there had only been enough penicillin made in the USA to treat about 30 people. That soon changed. After it became clear that the drug could help those wounded in World War II, the Army Medical Corps quickly asked for more to be produced. By May of , enough was being made that civilians could finally get access. Write to Lily Rothman at lily.
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