In the early 1900s, Mary Mallon, a domestic cook, was unknowingly a healthy carrier of Typhoid fever.
Written by Claudia Jansen, Morgan Metz, and Marian Moser Jones. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/who-was-typhoid-mary.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Learn More:
- Ashurst, John V., Justina Truong, and Blair Woodbury. “Typhoid Fever (Salmonella Typhi),” StatPearls [online book] Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan–. PMID:30085544. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519002/.
- Bourdain, Anthony. Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010.
- Hasian, M.A. Power, Medical Knowledge, and the Rhetorical Invention of “Typhoid Mary”. Journal of Medical Humanities 21, 123–139 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009074619421
- “Individual who tested positive for COVID-19 being held in Spokane County Jail after refusing to self-isolate,” NBC Right Now (Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA), July 2, 2020, https://www.nbcrightnow.com/regional/individual-who-tested-positive-for-covid-19-being-held-in-spokane-county-jail-after-refusing/article_ee6606ca-a4b2-5dec-824c-c0d4f184d1e9.html
- Leavitt, Judith Waltzer. Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996), pp. 16-18, 27-29, 45-46, 71. “Spokane health officer issues order to jail COVID-19 positive man who refused to self-isolate,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), July 2, 2020. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jul/02/spokane-health-officer-issues-order-to-jail-covid
- Teicher A. Typhoid Mary Was Not a Super-Spreader (and Super-Spreaders Are Not "Typhoid Marys"). Am J Public Health. 2023 Dec;113(12):1249-1253. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2023.307434. Epub 2023 Oct 12. PMID: 37824810; PMCID: PMC10632844, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37824810/
- “Tuberculosis patient in Washington who was arrested for refusing treatment is finally cured,” NBC News, July 23, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/washington-tuberculosis-patient-cured-arrested-refusing-treatment-rcna163302.
