Skip to main content

 Typhoid Mary: Quarantine before Ours

By: Anya Niven

           

As Covid-19 is prevalent in America and much of the world, many are making comparisons to other pandemics and epidemics in history. Although not the most popularly referenced, the disease typhoid fever and its outbreaks had many similarities to (especially the early stages of) the coronavirus pandemic. One of the biggest outbreaks of typhoid fever occurred in New York City from 1906-1907, and one woman became a symbol for the disease, even gaining the nickname, “Typhoid Mary”. 

 

Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant who came to the United States at age 15, had lived most of her life in the U.S. and had recently become a home chef for various wealthy families in the New York City area. Mallon was also an asymptomatic carrier of the bacteria Salmonella typhi, which causes typhoid fever, meaning she carried and could pass on typhoid fever to others, though she would never herself have symptoms of the disease. Due to the nature of her work paired with the lack of sanitary standards for chefs at the time, Mallon began unintentionally spreading the disease to her employers and other members of their households in the timeframe that she was working for them. It is assumed that Typhoid Mary spread typhoid fever to about 122 New Yorkers, 5 of whom died directly as a result. Although, as seen in our current pandemic, infecting one person directly may infect many people indirectly, there is no complete answer on how much Mallon impacted the death toll of almost 26,000 between 1906 and 1907 alone.

 

 Fortunately, for the general population of New York, investigators of the typhoid outbreak eventually noticed a pattern in many of the afflicted families; Mary Mallon was the home chef for many of the families and they had been eating food prepared by her. The New York Department of Health eventually aimed to track down Mallon to test her for the disease. Mary avoided the department, first threatening one investigator with a fork and then running away from the NYDOH for 5 hours before she was caught. After she was tested and found to have the typhoid pathogen in her blood, she was moved to a quarantine facility on a small island outside of the Bronx. After being held there for 3 years, she was released and promised to remove herself from the food industry and not work as a home chef any longer. However, Mallon was found working as a chef in a New York hospital just five years later. Mallon’s second apprehension was less dramatic, though it ended much worse for her. Mary Mallon was sent back to the isolated facility and forced to stay there, with only the companionship of a dog for the last 23 years of her life. Although the mostly worldwide quarantine of early 2020 seems to pale in comparison to Typhoid Mary’s story, the many similarities between the two highlight that some things, in terms of public health, have not changed within the past century.

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-frightening-legacy-of-typhoid-mary-180954324/

https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/long-view-tragedy-typhoid-mary

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Astrological Signs by Ava C

  Astrological Signs   By: Ava Cody    Astrology is the study of planets and stars as well as the belief that  their movements and positions have an i nfluence on the events, lives and behaviors of people.  Astrology is a belief though because there is no real science to pro ve its impacts on human lives, but many people do see value in them.  Within the study of Astrology there  are  Astrological signs which impact the human lives as they assign  a person's characteristics, preferences, flaws and fears . The  Astrological  sign given to each human varies because  they are based on the position of the sun, moon and the planets   at the very moment that a person is born  which of course vari es from human to human.   T here  is   not just one type of  As trological sign ;  there are three  different types of signs which are  sun, moon and rising which are the  three  ma...
Post a Comment
Read more
Messerschmitt  Bf-109   If you were to think of an iconic German aircraft from the second  W orld  W ar, you are most likely to see an image of the Messerschmitt 109 in your head. This aircraft was one of the most widely used and produced of the Luftwaffe. Its first taste of combat came during the Spanish  C ivil  W ar, in 1936, and stayed in service up until 1965 under the Spanish Airforce. Its most notable use was during World War  II , fighting for the 3 rd  Reich from 1939 to 1945.   The Bf-109, also commonly known as the Me-109, was one of very few aircraft that remained in service throughout  W orld  W ar  II  and was still able to hold its own against the ever more advanced allied aircraft. The aircraft has over 100 variants created during its time in service and has been licensed for use by multiple countries. Originally created in 1934 by the German air ministry to be the first modern monoplane desig...
Post a Comment
Read more
  Remote Learning During the Pandemic    By Ethan DeSalvo    Remote learning throughout Covid-19 has been a different experience and has presented many learning curves for students. These learning curves have proved difficult for students, but it has also provided teachers the time and situation to adapt to these types of situations and to be better prepared for the future if something similar where to happen. Remote learning has its downfall such as students are not paying attention and doing something else, and the many distractions of one's home. Covid-19 has also forced us to adapt to learning when school is out whether it be due to a pandemic or because of a snow day or something in the school breaks. Remote learning could eliminate the use of snow days though it has its setbacks for that such as power being down in a certain area in a town, and the many distractions of...
Post a Comment
Read more