1881-1967

1881-1963

American physician and pathologist, respectively, who discovered the cause of scarlet fever and developed methods for preventing this disease. In 1923 George and Gladys Dick identified and isolated the hemolytic streptococcus bacterium that causes scarlet fever. They used the Dick toxin, which is secreted by the causative agent, in a series of immunization experiments. Injections of the toxin-antitoxin were used to immunize children against the disease. The Dick skin test for susceptibility to scarlet fever was successfully introduced in 1924.