Who is Mary Mallon better remembered as 'Typhoid Mary'?

It is well known that Mary Mallon is better remembered as Typhoid Mary. However, not many know that Mallon herself was immune to the disease but unknowingly spread typhoid fever to the community in New York where she lived.

Unaware of Her Role in Spreading Typhoid Fever

Mary Mallon, born in Ireland in 1869, moved to America in 1883 and found work as a domestic servant. She frequently changed households, working as a cook for different families. However, wherever Mallon went, people fell ill with typhoid fever, a disease often fatal to the community she served. It wasn't until the health authorities became suspicious and began testing her for typhoid that the truth was revealed.

Discovery and Confinement

The authorities discovered that Mary Mallon was an asymptomatic carrier, a person who carries and can transmit the disease without becoming ill themselves. This made her a significant threat to public health, as she unknowingly spread typhoid fever through her work as a cook. Due to her role in spreading this deadly disease, Mary Mallon, or Typhoid Mary, was confined to her home and isolated in a cottage in the Bronx for several years from 1907 to 1910. This confinement was meant to prevent her from continuing to spread the disease. Despite this, she showed little remorse and even took on a false identity to continue working as a cook, indirectly contributing to additional cases of typhoid fever.

Re-Appearing and the Grim Reality

Five years later, in 1915, authorities tracked down Mary Mallon, now referred to as Typhoid Mary. Despite her refusal to cooperate with health officials, it is estimated that she was responsible for infecting at least 50 people with typhoid fever and is believed to have caused three direct deaths. The total number of people she infected is likely much higher, but the exact figure remains unknown. After her capture, Typhoid Mary was committed to a sanitarium for the remainder of her life, where she died in 1938.

Mary Mallon's story highlights the important role of public health officials in protecting communities from the spread of infectious diseases. Her nickname 'Typhoid Mary' became synonymous with the danger of asymptomatic carriers, making her a cautionary tale for modern society. The legacy of Mary Mallon serves as a reminder of the critical importance of quarantine and public health measures in preventing the spread of diseases.