DISEASES CONQUERED BY NEW BRITISH DRUGS

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23948, 15 May 1943, Page 4

DISEASES CONQUERED BY NEW BRITISH DRUGS

MEDICAL SERVICE

The United Nations’ victory will afford to every ration the fruits of an equally momentous victory which is almost unknown to the world public —the war-time victory of British meal cal science over hitherto unconquered ‘‘The captain of the hosts of death before the war was pneumonia: some 2.065.000 people were killed by it in 1936. No cure was known, the British scientist, Dr. A. J. Ewins,discovered the new drug sulphapyndme in 1937: it was first tested on a woman dying of pneumonia at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London on May 10, 1938 - bv May 26, 1938. the cure was complete. The last obstacle-the drug* liability to cause vomiting—was eliminated in 1940 by Ewins discovery of sulphathiazole, which recently cured Mr Churchill. Human enemy No. 1 has been defeated by British medicine. Pneumonia Conquered Consider what this means to the world where before the war 25 to JU per cent, of pneumonia victims died. In Scandinavia in 1940, of 17 acute cases, which Dr. R. Frisk treated with the new drugs, 6 per cent, died; in the United States in 1940-41, out of 132 cases which the Boston Dispensary treated, 3.8 per cent, died; in the Middle East in 1942-43, of 169 British soldiers treated by one medical division, 2.3 per cent. died. The average mortality of these examples is 4 per cent., which if achieved universally after the war would save six in every seven people which pneumonia killed before the war, or some 1.750,000 people annually. This British victory affects particularly Chile, with a high 1936 pneumonia death rale of 485 per 100.000 inhabitants, Egypt with a rate of 317, and Spain (1935) with 160. British physicians also proved that the new drugs are far superior to prewar medicines against seven more universal enemies of man —scarlet fever (in Russia there were 487.993 cases in 1936), childbed fever (in the United States there were 4506 deaths in 1936), erysipelas (in Mexico 2026 deaths in 1936), anthrax, gonorrhoea, and tonsillitis. These diseases, in 1936 killed some 250,000 people, but, new drugs are to-day saving 5000 of these byes annually from spotted fever m Britain alone. This in itself places the British discovery among the greatest in history, quite apart from the conquest of pneumonia, which was a more ruthless killer before the war than either cancer or tuberculosis, human enemies Nos. 2 and 3. against which the battle is still being waged. Another Enemy Defeated Human enemy No. 4 before the war was gastro-enteritis in infants. Some 885 000 babies under two were killed by it in 1936. No cure was known until the British discovery of sulphonamide compounds resulted in the new variant of sulphaguanidine. Six epidemics in one British hospital in 1940-42 involved 102 infants. Before the discovery of the new drug the annual mortality rate was 75 per cent.; after its discovery, 10 per cent. Another British hospital reduced the mortality rate from 80 per cent, to 23 per cent, by a new prevention plan, even without the new drug, saving three in every four babies which gastro-enteritis killed before the war.

[By a Special Correspondent]

which is equivalent to a world total of some'66o.ooo lives annually. This success of British doctors affects particularly Portgugal, with a 1936 deathrate of 64.5 for every 1000 living births, Uruguay with a death-rate of 28 8 and Egypt, with a death-rate of 178.5. In addition, British physicians proved that the new drug bacillary dysentery, reducing the (. W . war period of sickness (a minimum of three weeks) by some 75 per cent, Of 11 children treated at Oxford for the most resistant types (Sonne dysentery) nine were cured in less than nine days; in the Middle East, of 51 chronic cases at one British Army hospital, the average cure was four days; of a total of 1829 cases only two died (from other causes). Compare the United States of America in 1938, where out of 20.644 .cases, 1263 were fatal This British success affects particularly Russia, with 200,157 cases (all forms), and Mexiqo with 11,514 deaths (from all forms) in 1936. By pioneering the sulphonamide group of drugs, which cure the above 10 universal diseases and defeat streptococcus germs inside the bloodstream, Britain has continued free medical leadership begun by William Harvey with the discovery of the blood circulation in 1628. The Greatest Discovery Yet The major enemy facing world bacteriologists after the British defeat of the main streptococcal infection was the rival germ family of staphylococci, causing pus blood poisoning with a huge death roll and thousands of minor infections. Again Britain brought victory within sight during the war with the first human tests, with an amazing new drug penicillin, discovered by the British scientist, Professor A. Fleming, in 1930, in a mould similar to that for growing rotten cheese, and first isolated and applied clinically by the British scientist, Professor H. Florey. Where pus is present (inhibiting suphonamides) the effect of penicillin is four times that of sulphathiazole, and 20 times that of sulphapyridine. In addition, it defeats streptococcus penumococcus and other germs conquered by sulphonamides. In his historic report in the “Lancet” on March 27, 1943, Florey describes the first clinical tests: of 10 cases of serious illness threatening death due to staphylococcus every one was cured; of 22 cases of ear infections threatening deafness. 19 were healed in a few oays; of 89 cases of eye infections threatening blindness, 66 healed rapidly; of 50 miscellaneous infections from wounds, carbuncles, etc., the vast majority were healed by penicillin alone, without an operation. The “Lancet” comments: ‘‘These cases would have been considered hopeless by all previous standards, yet the patients recovered.” Penicillin is not yet available for clinical use, but when it is, China, where osteomyelitis is widespread, will benefit particularly. British scientists are already experimenting with new drugs from other moulds, e.g.. citrinin, continuing their world leadership from the discovery of antiseptics by Lord Lister (1827 to 1912). i ■ - —«