Scarlet Fever Streptococcus Toxin for Dick Test, 5 Tests

The Dick test is a skin test once used to determine an individual’s susceptibility to scarlet fever. Scarlet fever streptococcus toxin was injected under the skin and the site monitored for any reaction. Individuals lacking immunity developed a red rash in the area. The test was named for American physicians George F. Dick (1881 – 1967) and Gladys Henry Dick (1881 – 1963), who isolated the bacteria, Streptococcus pyogenes, that causes scarlet fever in 1923 and developed the test the following year. The test helped public health officials identify populations most at risk for the disease.

This object was part of an exhibit on the manufacture and use of biological vaccines for the treatment of smallpox, respiratory infections, influenza, measles, and scarlet fever. Under the direction of the Smithsonian’s curator of medicine, the pharmaceutical company, Sharp & Dohme, designed and produced the exhibit which was installed at the Smithsonian in September 1947. The company became a major U.S. producer of biological products including many vaccines, serums, and antitoxins, after acquiring H. K. Mulford & Company in 1929. The Mulford Company was a pioneer in the commercial development of biologicals in the United States beginning with the production of a diphtheria antitoxin in the mid-1890s.

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