242 Miracles Ahead! 



particularly on a large scale. In view of the magnitude of the 

 venereal disease problem and its effect on man days lost, we 

 believe the risks are justified." 



Erysipelas, impetigo, scarlet fever, tonsilitis, and diseases of 

 the ear all are being routed by the sulfa drugs, and new 

 marvels of healing will be performed in the future by these 

 "magic bullets." 



It appears that these drugs don't kill disease germs. Dr. 

 Galdston explains that they seem to do their work by making 

 it impossible for the particular bacteria to feed. The starved 

 bacteria cannot multiply for an all-out attack on the body, 

 so the body's armed forces its white blood cells and immune 

 bodies counterattack and kill off the bacteria. But all the 

 actions of the sulfa drugs have not been explained by scien- 

 tists, and more is being learned about them every day. This 

 knowledge will help doctors use the sulfa drugs in such a way 

 as to avoid toxic effects on patients, and speed up the germ- 

 fighting action of the drugs. 



Penicillin Germ Destroyer 



Although great strides have been made in the conquest of 

 disease by the use of sulfa drugs, a newcomer penicillin 

 is favored by many to win the germ-killing championship in 

 the near future. The Journal of the A.M.A. hails it as "far 

 superior to any of the sulfonamides" in the treating of in- 

 fected wounds and burns. Penicillin is an extract from a com- 

 mon mold, penicillium notatum, similar to the molds that 

 occur in cheese and bread. It was accidentally discovered in 

 1929 by Dr. Alexander Fleming, an English bacteriologist. 

 The mold contaminated some culture plates while he was 

 searching for an influenza-causing organism, and was ob- 

 served to check the growth of some other organisms. Broth 

 cultures of the mold were found to contain an antibacterial 

 substance, later named penicillin. The first work was not fol- 



