The Comparative Effect of Some Sulfonamides on Experimental Trichinosis in White Mice

Abstract

In recent years it was demonstrated that some sulfonamides possess remarkable prophylactic and therapeutic value against certain bacterial and protozoan diseases. In a very able review Van Someren (1939) listed substances tried for the treatment of trichiniasis. None of the substances reported were very satisfactory. Sulfanilamide has been studied in the treatment of trichinosis but the results of the investigators are contradictory. McCoy (1938) presented results taken from two experiments each consisting of experimental and control groups of rats. The experimental rats were treated for 12-16 days with daily doses of 125 mg of sulfanilamide. Chemotherapy began one day after trichinization. When the rats were autopsied 30-60 days after parasitism he found that the sulfanilamide treated rats harbored about as many muscle cysts as the control rats. For a limited study of sulfanilamide therapy in trichinosis McNaught et al (1939a) incorporated sulfanilamide in a ration at a concentration of 1.66 per cent and fed it to rats for 42 days beginning two days prior to trichinization. They found that the four rats fed the sulfanilamide ration harbored only 45 per cent as many muscle larvae as the four control rats fed the same ration without the sulfanilamide.