Typhoid Mary

I'm in the process of reading a book about Typhoid Mary.  Typhoid Mary got her name because she was a known carrier of the bacteria that caused typhoid fever, yet she didn't show any symptoms.  She was a single Irish immigrant who cooked for others to make a living.  Because of her profession she exposed many people to the disease and in turn they became infected and ill.  Interestingly, she was not the only known carrier and there were many others who had infected far more than she and there were deaths as a result of those infections.  So, the question becomes why did she become so famous?

Back in that time period health officials didn't know how to deal with disease carriers and they ultimately decided they needed to isolate these people so they wouldn't infect anyone else.  Now, it is important to remember that back in that day germs and especially bacteria where unknown concepts to the lay person.  What was most confusing to them was the fact that a person could look and feel healthy but be a carrier of disease.

When Mary was found to be a carrier she was exiled without trial without due process.  Basically, her life was taken away from her.  The other thing to remember is the attitude of people back in that time period.  There was definitely a class system and much bias against single women and immigrants.  So, basically Mary had at least two strikes against her.  What is really unfortunate is the fact that at one point she was able to get out of exile and went back to work as a cook under a different name.  She caused more illness.  Because she didn't understand the concept of a disease carrier she would go back to the only life she was trained to do.

But, to read how the health officials described her in their reports denotes a definite bias against her.  The most curious thing is that there were other known carriers who had caused more illness and death than Mary.  But, the difference was that they were male and allowed back into society.  She was found again and ultimately spent the rest of her life in exile from society and died alone in isolation.

I can hear some saying that this particular situation would never happen in society today.  True, today we have a better understanding of microbiology.  But, with the threat of antibiotic resistant microorganisms, the mobility of people in the world, and the way some diseases are passed along, we are vulnerable to epidemics.  In fact, there is a man in isolation because he has an antibiotic resistant tuberculosis.  He could be the next "Typhoid Mary" if he were allowed to walk the streets.  TB can be passed to others in the air.  I don't know if he is being held against his will but the question becomes would you want him out and about potentially infecting hundreds?  Most people would say no.  On the other hand what if it was you who had the disease?  Could you handle the isolation from the world?

How is that for a would you rather?

Keep on go!