Mary Mallon, known as Typhoid Mary, was the first asymptomatic carrier of Salmonella typhi identified in the United States. She worked as a cook between 1900-1907 and infected at least 51 people, with 3 confirmed deaths. After outbreaks in families she worked for, she was investigated by George Soper who identified her as the source. She was forcibly quarantined twice, spending the last 30 years in isolation without treatment. Her case highlighted the risk of asymptomatic carriers in spreading disease unknowingly.

1. MARRY MALLON
also known as
Typhoid Mary
BHAVANA RAJANNA
89 A

2. ABOUT MARRY:
• Mary Mallon (September 23, 1869 – November 11, 1938), commonly known as
Typhoid Mary, was an Irish-born American cook believed to have infected
between 51 to 122 people with typhoid fever.
• The infections caused three confirmed deaths, with unconfirmed estimates of up
to 50. She was the first person in the United States identified as an asymptomatic
carrier of the pathogenic bacteria Salmonella typhi.
• She persisted in working as a cook and thereby exposed others to the disease.
Because of that, she was twice forcibly quarantined by authorities, eventually for
the final two decades of her life. Mallon died after a total of nearly 30 years in
isolation.
• Her popular nickname has since gained currency as a term for persons who
spread disease or other misfortune, not always aware that they are doing so.

3. Career
• From 1900 to 1907, Mallon worked as a cook in the New York City area for
eight families, seven of whom contracted typhoid.
• In 1900, she worked in Mamaroneck, New York, where within two weeks
of her employment, residents developed typhoid fever. In 1901, she
moved to Manhattan, where members of the family for whom she worked
developed fevers and diarrhea, and the laundress died.
• In June 1904, she was hired by a prosperous lawyer, Henry Gilsey.
Within a week, the laundress was infected with typhoid, and soon
four of the seven servants were ill. No members of Gilsey's family
were infected, because they resided separately, and the servants
lived in their own house.
• In late 1906, Mallon was hired by Walter Bowen, whose family lived
on Park Avenue. Their maid fell sick on January 23, 1907 and soon
two of the household's servants had been hospitalised and the
daughter of the house had contracted typhoid and died.

4. WHAT IS THYPHOID
• Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that can spread
throughout the body, affecting many organs. Without prompt
treatment, it can cause serious complications and can be
fatal.
• It's caused by a bacterium called Salmonella typhi, which is
related to the bacteria that cause salmonella food
poisoning.
• Its due to salmonella typhi.
Signs and symptoms usually include :
 High fever
Headache
Stomach pain
Constipation or diarrhea

5. Investigation
• The Park Avenue outbreak helped to identify Mallon as the
source of the infections. Soper learned of the case while it was
still active and discovered Mallon was the cook
• Soper first met Mallon in the kitchen of the Bowens' Park
Avenue penthouse and accused her of spreading the disease.
Though Soper himself recollected his behavior "as diplomatic
as possible", he infuriated Mallon and she threatened him with
a carving fork.
• Soper published his findings on June 15, 1907, in the Journal
of the American Medical Association.
He wrote: It was found that the family changed cooks on
August 4. This was about three weeks before the typhoid
epidemic broke out. The new cook, Mallon, remained in the family
only a short time and left about three weeks after the outbreak
occurred. Mallon was described as an Irish woman about 40
years of age, tall, heavy, single. She seemed to be in perfect
health.
George Soper, an investigator hired by the Oyster
Bay property owner after the outbreak there, had
been trying to determine the cause of typhoid
outbreaks in well-to-do families, when it was
known that the disease typically struck in
unsanitary conditions.
He discovered that a female Irish cook, who fit the
physical description he had been given, was
involved in all of the outbreaks. He was unable to
locate her because she generally left after an
outbreak began, without giving a forwarding
address.

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