SULFATHIAZOLE

also spelled Sulphathiazole, synthetic drug formerly used in the treatment of bacterial infections. In the mid-1940s sulfathiazole was the most widely used of the sulfa drugs, but the introduction of less toxic sulfa drugs and, later, of penicillin and other antibiotics had by 1969 almost completely displaced sulfathiazole from use against systemic infections. It remained useful in veterinary medicine for combatting diseases due to staphylococcus, streptococcus, pasteurella, and shigella.