Put to death therefore what is earthy in you. – Colossians 3:5
The first American patient was successfully treated with penicillin on this day in 1942. Anne Miller, a Connecticut woman who had been suffering with a fever from sepsis for weeks after a miscarriage, was near death when doctors gave the experimental drug a try. Within 24 hours of the dose, roughly a tablespoon which constituted nearly half the government’s supply at the time, Anne’s fever broke and she began to recover. In London in 1928, Dr. Alexander Fleming had accidentally discovered penicillin when mold prevented the growth of staphylococci on a culture plate. The U.S. government had been hesitant to approve the drug until Miller’s dramatic recovery from infection. The production of penicillin was then accelerated, and combat medicine was revolutionized by the drug during the Second World War.
As the Lord leads, pray with us…
- For the surgeon general to seek God’s guidance as he oversees public health and issues recommendations to Americans.
- For Commissioner Robert Califf as he oversees the Food and Drug Administration’s reviews and approvals of new medications and therapies.
