Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Christine Massey FOIs's avatar

Great job Alhissla :)

Expand full comment
Sense_strand's avatar

The claim that scarlet fever was never demonstrated to be contagious is contradicted by well-documented scientific research conducted in the early 20th century by bacteriologists Gladys and George Dick. Through controlled experiments, the Dicks successfully induced scarlet fever in human volunteers by inoculating them with Streptococcus pyogenes—a bacterium isolated from a lesion on a nurse who had been caring for a scarlet fever patient. The development of scarlet fever symptoms following this inoculation provided strong evidence that the disease was transmissible.

Additionally, the Dicks' research identified the scarlet fever toxin by injecting sterile filtrates from S. pyogenes cultures into volunteers, producing the characteristic rash and "strawberry tongue" associated with the illness. The resulting "Dick test" allowed for the identification of individuals susceptible to scarlet fever, further confirming the toxin's role in disease development.

These findings align with the well-established understanding that scarlet fever is primarily transmitted via respiratory droplets from infected individuals. The research conducted by the Dicks, alongside subsequent studies, clearly demonstrates that scarlet fever is contagious and that its causative agent, S. pyogenes, can spread from person to person.

Dick GF, Dick GH. A skin test for susceptibility to scarlet fever. JAMA. 1924; 82:256–66

Expand full comment
2 more comments...

No posts