The Use of Sulfanilamide in Experimental Brucellosis

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During the past few years the literature on the therapeutic effect of sulfanilamide and its derivatives has grown to large proportions and both clinical and experimental results have demonstrated the value of sulfanilamide in certain infectious diseases particularly those due to some members of the Coccaceae. Long and Bliss1 carried out extensive studies in this field and, in a recent series of publications, adequately reviewed the literature. Among the diseases investigated for possible treatment with sulfanilamide, Brucella infections have received comparatively little attention. Until the recent introduction of sulfanilamide in the treatment of human Brucellosis no successful therapeutic methods had been available. Reports2 from Europe and America have indicated that sulfanilamide treatment has given successful results in human infections due to Br. melitensis and Br. abortus. Twenty-one cases have been reported in the literature all of which responded rapidly to treatment and recovered with no relapses. Only a few reports have been made on the sulfanilamide treatment of Brucella infections in experimental animals. The author3 reported the prophylactic effect of sulfanilamide following experimental infections of guinea pigs with Br. abortus and Br. suis. Welch, Wentworth and Mickle4 have demonstrated that sulfanilamide produces a marked increase in opsonocytophagic activity in Brucella infected guinea pigs. The present report deals with the effect of sulfanilamide on Br. melitensis, Br. abortus and Br. suis in vitro and the prophylactic and therapeutic effect of this drug in guinea pigs experimentally infected with Brucella. In these experiments old stock strains and also recently isolated strains of Brucella were used. The latter were kindly supplied by Dr. I. F. Huddleson of the Michigan State College of Agriculture. All the strains were pathogenic for guinea pigs.