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Antibacterial Effects Of Sulfanilamide

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The antibacterial effects of sulfanilamide were first observed in 1932, when German bacteriologist and pathologist Gerhard Domagk noted the effects of the red dye Prontosil on Streptococcus infections in mice. It was later proved by French researchers that the active agent of Prontosil was sulfanilamide, or para-aminobenzenesulfonamide, a product of the body’s metabolism of Prontosil. By the 1940s sulfanilamide was a widely used drug. During World War II white sulfanilamide powders became standard in first-aid kits for the treatment of open wounds, and sulfanilamide tablets were taken to fight intestinal infections. Though the medicine was relatively safe, allergic reactions such as skin rashes, fever, nausea, vomiting, and even mental confusion

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