In 1928, microbiologist Alexander Fleming noticed that "mold juice" tended to kill off staphylococcal bacteria. That was the discovery of penicillin, but it was only the beginning of the research into it. It took another decade to extract and purify the mold juice, and then tests on mice began, which showed promise in killing bacterial infections. Would it work in humans? Who wanted to the be the first test case?
Albert Alexander of Oxford, England, was suffering from sepsis, a virulent blood infection caused by his infected facial scratches, and was near death when doctors decided there was no hope for recovery with standard treatment. Fletcher knew he would be the perfect candidate for the experimental penicillin serum. Alexander received his first dose of penicillin on Feb. 12, 1941. And over the course of a ten-day treatment, the infection improved! Sadly, there was not enough prepared penicillin to save Alexander's life in the long run. But the treatment was proven to be safe and effective for human use.
However, the story illustrates how awful infections were before the age of antibiotics. It is horrifying to think that a man who had been scratched on his face by the rose bushes in his garden could suffer and die that way. The way Albert Alexander's story is told in microbiology classes is designed to elicit that reaction, but it isn't quite so. Read the real reason behind his painful injury and death at the Conversation. -via Damn Interesting
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Both my parents served in the Army during WWII. My mom outranked my dad. During their inductions they had all of the usual inoculations but one, which was new to the armed forces, was penicillin. My mother said it came in a glass syringe and the penicillin was the consistency of thick hand lotion and hurt like heck.
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