MENINGITIS CAUSED BY PNEUMOCOSSUS TYPE III

Abstract

A new type of therapeutic agent effective against certain virulent bacterial infections was elaborated after many years of pioneer work on the chemical properties of azo dyes. 1 Domagk 2 in 1935 reported on the use of the original prontosil in the treatment of experimental streptococcic infections in mice. He found that a sulfonamide group in certain azo dyes caused them to protect or cure mice infected with fatal doses of hemolytic streptococci. The most effective of these dyes are 4-sulfamido-2'-4'-diaminoazobenzene hydrochloride (the original prontosil) and the disodium salt of 4-sulfamidophenyl-2'-azo-7'-acetylamino-1'-hydroxynaphthalene-3', 6'-disulfonic acid (the compound known as prontosil soluble and then as prontosil and now to be called neoprontosil). A short time later the Trefouels, Nitti, Bovet and Fourneau 3 noted that paraaminobenzenesulfonamide constitutes the active fraction of both the prontosils; they then synthesized paraaminobenzenesulfonamide, later to be known as sulfanilamide. Their observations were confirmed and elaborated by Goissedet, Despois,