Wilhelm Siegmund Frei

Wilhelm Siegmund Frei(September 5, 1885- January 27, 1943) was a German dermatologist. Frei was best known for his contributions to Durand-Nicholas-Favre disease, a sexually transmitted disease found mainly in tropical and subtropical climates. And the Frei Antigen that indicated delayed hypersensitivity to an intradermal standardized antigen prepared from chlamydia grown in the yolk sac of a chick embryo. Which was used to create the Frei Test. The Frei Test was developed in 1925 for lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). "A positive test indicates past or present chlamydial infection. Frei's test becomes positive two to eight weeks after infection. Frei's antigen is common to all chlamydial species and is not specific to LGV. Due to its nonspecific nature, the test is no longer used."

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Early Life

Wilhelm Siegmund Frei was born on September 5, 1885, the first born of two sisters. His father, Emil Frei was a mining firm director, from Neustadt, Upper Silesia. Emil then married Frederika Ring who came from Austria.

• Wilhelm Siegmund Frei, (1885)-(1943)

• Gerta Frei, (1887)-(presumably killed by Nazis)

• Josephina Frei, (1888)-(died young)

Life

Wilhelm studied medicine in Freiburg,Germany and went on to get his Doctorate in Gottingen in 1913. He met Magda Frankfurter,(1885-1973) when they were both studying medicine in Freiburg and was married on January 12, 1912. They then had their first child Marianne, later that year on November 7, 1912 and their second child Fritz was born on December 12, 1915. "He worked at the Breslau University Medical Polyclinic, at the Robert Koch institute in Berlin, at the hygienical institute in Gottingen and at the Breslau University skin clinic. Their third child, Hans Wilhelm Frei (a noted theologist) was born April 29,1922. "Then he was habililtated as Privatdozent for dermatology in 1923, becoming professor extraordinary at the Berlin-Spandau Municipal Hospital in 1926. From 1929 he was head physician at the dermatological department of the municipal hospital Berlin-Spandau."

Due to the uprising of the Nazis and bad times looming ahead in Germany, he immigrated to New York with his family and went to work at the Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx from 1937 until he fell ill and died on January 27, 1943. Leaving behind his wife and three children at the age of 58.

References

• Frei Darrow, Marianne P., Daughter of Wilhelm Siegmund Frei
• Nagar R, Pande S, Khopkar U. Intradermal tests in dermatology-I: Tests for infectious diseases. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2006;72:461-465
• Bedson SP, Barwell CF, King EJ, Bishop LW. The Laboratory Diagnosis of Lymphogranuloma Venereum. J Clin Pathol 1949;2:241-9.