# Efficiency of Penicillin



## Gino4 (10 Dec 2008)

Hello all,

I've been trying to find a reference or statistic regarding the efficiency of penicillin in WW2. "How many Allied troops were saved by penicillin"? is the question I'm trying to answer. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd really be grateful.

Thanks


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## Blackadder1916 (10 Dec 2008)

While penicillin may have been the "wonder drug" that came to the fore during WW2, it should be recognized that it was not widely available until later in the war (and even then was relatively restricted in its use).  But the military use of antibiotics during WW2 is most recognizable in cinema with images of soldiers sprinkling white 'Sulfa' powder on wounds before dressing them.

http://home.att.net/~steinert/wwii.htm#The%20Use%20of%20Penicillin%20in%20World%20War%20II


> The Discovery of Sulfanilamide
> 
> Gerhard Johannes Paul Domagk (1895-1964), a German biochemist, whose research with antibacterial chemicals resulted in the discovery of a new class of drugs that provided the first effective treatments for pneumonia, meningitis, and other bacterial diseases. Domagk’s research involved analyzing thousands of chemicals for their antibacterial properties. In 1932 he tested a red dye, Prontosil. The dye itself had no antibacterial properties, but when Domagk slightly changed its chemical makeup, Prontosil showed a remarkable ability to arrest infections in mice caused by streptococcal bacteria. Domagk tested the drug on his daughter, who was near death from a streptococcal infection and had failed to respond to other treatments. She subsequently made a complete recovery
> 
> ...



This from the QA website which may give a sense of the British perspective.


> Penicillin use in World War Two
> 
> The first use of Penicillin in a military hospital during World War Two was described by Brenda McBryde in Quiet Heroines: Nurses of the Second World War which was at the 98th British General Hospital (BGH) at Chateaudun on the Constantin Plateau.
> 
> ...


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