At MGH, intravenous sulfadiazine (a new drug which had only been approved for use in the US in August, 1941) was given to all patients as part of their initial treatment. At BCH, 76 patients received sulfonamides for an average of 11 days. Thirteen survivors of the fire were also among the first humans to be treated with the new antibiotic, penicillin. In early December Merck and Company rushed a 32-liter supply of the drug, in the form of culture liquid in which the "Penicillium" mold had been grown, from Rahway, New Jersey to Boston. These patients received 5,000 IU (roughly 2.99 mg) every 4 hours, a relatively tiny dose by today's standards, but at the time antibiotic resistance was rare and most strains of "Staphylococcus aureus" were penicillin-sensitive. The drug was crucial in preventing infections in skin grafts. According to the British Medical Journal: