Historical Figure
Typhoid Mary
1869–1938
Irish cook who was a carrier of typhoid fever in New York
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Biography
Mary Mallon, commonly known as Typhoid Mary, was an Irish-born cook who lived in the United States from a young age and is believed to have infected up to fifty-seven people with the bacteria that cause typhoid fever. The infections caused three confirmed deaths. She was the first person in the U.S. to be identified as an asymptomatic carrier of Salmonella Typhi bacteria.
Timeline
The story of Typhoid Mary, told in moments.
Born Mary Mallon in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Ireland. Emigrated to the United States as a teenager. Worked as a cook for wealthy New York families. Good at her job. No one suspected anything.
Identified by epidemiologist George Soper as an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. She'd infected at least seven households. Forcibly quarantined on North Brother Island in the East River. She was 38 and had never felt sick.
Released after agreeing never to cook again and to report to health authorities quarterly. Changed her name and went straight back to cooking. Five years later, another outbreak.
Traced to a typhoid outbreak at Sloane Maternity Hospital. 25 cases, two deaths. Returned to North Brother Island. This time permanently. She'd infected at least 57 people, three confirmed dead.
Died on North Brother Island at 69. Had lived there 23 years. Pneumonia, after a stroke left her bedridden for six years. Over 400 other asymptomatic typhoid carriers were identified during her confinement. None were quarantined as long.
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