Part New Drugs Play In Fight Against Disease Makes Enthralling Story

Chronicle (Levin), 19 March 1949, Page 4

Part New Drugs Play In Fight Against Disease Makes Enthralling Story

Relentlessly throughout the centuries-mankind has waged war against disease and the micro-organisms which cause it. In early times the weapons w6re perhaps simple and primitive compared with those which medical science has diseo'vered and uses today, but the battle was for the same objective — the preservation of human life. It has been a winning fight and much of that success has come from discoveries of recent times, two of the most notable and spectacular being sulpha drugs and penicil-lin. Dr. J. Melville, of Massey College, speaking to( members of 'the Levin Rotary Club this week, had'an fenthralling story to tell of the part these two newest tools .were playing in this age-old-war.

It was Joseph Lister, the English surgeon, who had first reepgriised that surgical operations on human beings were unsuccessful because of infectio'ns which occurred during the operation, said Dr. Melville.. He had realised that if microOrgahisms, particularly bacteria, eould be prevented from entering the incision, then mortality would decline, and that by means of car'bolic acid applied to instruments and hands, and by carbolic acid sprays during the operation, infection would be kept to a minimum. Thus had been born a technique which found its highest perfection today in the modern .theatre. Another example of man's efforts to control harmful micro-organisms eame from the water supplies, which could be kept absolutely safe with chlorine, Water-porne diseases in a civilised community were practically a thing of the past. Tincture of iodine ' and similar antiseptics in the home medicine chest represented a guard against micro-organisms. Yet another' instance was the pasteurisation of milk, a process which gave safeguard against a potentiaily dangerous source of bovine tuberculosis and undulant fever. When an invasion of the body took place, such as in pneumonia, meningitis and septicemia, and the eradication of the invader was essential," carbolic acid, chlorine or iodine could not be injected, continued the speaker, nor could the body be heated to a temperature where bacteria were killed, as in milk pasteurisation.

Faith and Skill ^Rewarded Dr. Melville went on to say that the first step had been made by Ehrlich, the German rpaeteriologist, about the turn of the century. His particular interest had beeh' iii o'rganisms cauising. sleeping sickhes's and syphilis, and he had -discovered that certain 'dyes were more easily absorbed by these spirochetes than by the cells of the human body. His idea had been that if a poisonous component could be incorporated into these dyes it might kill the spirochete without unduly damaging the 'body cells. Choosing arsenic as the component, Ehrlich had spent the g.reater part of his life in unsuccessful attempts, hut on coming to salvafsan he realised that his* faith and skill had been rewarded. "It did kill the invading microbe and did it without unduly affecting the patient," added' the speaker, Inspired by Ehrlieh's success, many others had tried to duplicate his results with other organisms, those causing pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis and so- on. Little progress had been made for over 20 years. and then the material known as prontosil was discovered. This and its descendants, which were known as sulpha drugs, had opened a new field in medicine, and many people now alive and well would have succumbed to infeetion or baeterial action but for the sulpha drugs". "It is into this background that penicillin must he placed," proceeded the speaker. "In 1929 Professor Alexander Fleming (now Sir

Alexander) , at St. Mary's Hospital, London, was examining plates of a very common organism — staph aureus— -the microbe which causes bofis, . carbuncles, osteomyelitis and such complaints. On one plate. he noticed a foreign organism had become established and was destroying the active microbes. Normally there is only one fate *for a contaminated plate and that is the incinerator, but it is to Flem- . ihg's everlasting credit that this fate did not overtake his culture of "taph. He isolated a small part of the mould colony and grew it in nure culture. discovering that it "elonged to a very common family known as the nenieillia. "These can 'be found on moffidy bread, in cheeses and on eitrus fruits which are beginning to go bad," added Dr. Melville. "It has to be stressed. however, that not one specimen in 10,000 of the penicillium group is a producer of peni'Cillin. On Track of Penicillin "Fleming discovered that his culture of penicillin retained its power to kifi staph when transferred to its new medium and tried to isolate the active agent from that medium. He was unsuccessful and, in publishing his results, made the statement that this new antibacterial agent, which had proved so promising, was too unsta'ble to permit of its isoTation." To the active 'material which his strain of j nrniCirium producer, Fleming had given the name penicillin. ' Little more had been done for nearlv 4en vears until Professor

Howard Florey and his group at 'Oxford decided penicillin was so promising that another attempt was warranted. He had been fortunate in having on his staff an able Czech refugee chemist named Ghain who, working on the medium on' which Fleming's strain of penicillium had grown, at last succeeded in preparing a smaU amount .of solid material with tmti-bacterial powers. 1 The first step was an experiment on mice, said Dr. Melville, and the results had proved beyond Florey's wildest expectations. The . next move was to try it on a human. being, but enormous difficulties had been faced in growing the drug on a far larger scale. The Oxford group had set out on its laborious task and the great day had finally arrived in 1941. The patient selected was an Oxford" policeman, continued the speaker, " who without penicillin would have surely died. The results had proved entirely Satisfactory and the patient had lived. Dr. MelviUe then went on to tell of how the drug. had been exploited despite the handicaps of war, and what had been done to ov.ercome .the obstacles to producing it in useful quantities. He concluded 'by outlining the assistance which had come from the'United States, ■largely from the Northern Regional Research Laboratory. The speaker was introduced by Mr. E. R. Winkler and at the eonclusion Mr. G. C. France expressed !the club's appreciation to him for such an interesting talk.