Typhoid Mary: Stirring Up a Pot of Chaos in Public Health

Elana Herceg, Eliana Sicurella Senior Division Group Website

Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources Baker, Josephine S. Fighting for Life. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1939. Josephine Baker was the health inspector tasked with detaining Mary. She describes Mary's behavior and how Mary resisted the Health Department's orders. In addition, she also emphasizes how Mary's case illustrated the power of the Health Department.

Evening Star (Washington D.C.). "Beware of Your Cooks." April 7, 1907. Accessed December 27, 2013. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1907-04-07/ed-1/seq16/#date1=1836&index=0&rows=20&words=BEWARE+Beware+cook+COOKS+your+ YOUR&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=Beware+of+yo ur+cooks&y=-221&x=-921&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1. This article provides reasons for why Mary's isolation was justified according to Dr. George Soper. It also explains various ways in which the public can be aware to protect themselves from typhoid.

Mallon, Mary. Mary Mallon to George Francis O'Neill, June 1909. In Her Own Words. PBS. Accessed December 10, 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/typhoid/letter.html. This letter written by Mary provides insight to what Mary was thinking at the time she was isolated by the Health Department. In the letter, Mary describes reasons she believed that the Health Department was treating her unjustly. She further explains that her rights were violated because of the involuntary testing.

Mary Mallon Medical Card. Photograph. 1907. New York County Clerk. New York, NY. Accessed February 1, 2014. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/typhoid-mary-villainor-victim.html. This image shows Mary's medical card during her first isolation. It depicts the evidence that the Health Department accumulated during her first isolation to prove that Mary was a healthy carrier of typhoid.

The New York Times (New York, NY). "Hospital Epidemic From Typhoid Mary." March 28, 1915. Accessed December 6, 2013. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70F11FF3E5F17738DDDA10A94DB4 05B858DF1D3. This article was written at the time of Mary's second isolation. It describes Mary's lack of responsibility to abide by the Health Departments regulations. In addition, it also describes how the Health Department neglected its responsibility to maintain track of Mary. By doing so, they failed to protect the health of the public because when Mary was found, she had caused an outbreak at the Sloane Maternity Hospital.

New York Times (New York City, NY). "'Typhoid Mary' Has Reappeared: Human Culture Tube, Herself Immune, Spreads the Disease Wherever She Goes." April 4, 1915. Accessed December 6, 2013. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archivefree/pdf?res=F70F12FA395B17738DDDAD0894DC405B858DF1D3. This newspaper article describes the event in which Mary had neglected her responsibility to the Health Department by returning to her occupation of cooking. It also explains how Mary's case impacted similar events. In addition it analyzes the situation of Mary and constructs an explanation as to why Mary fought to regain her rights.

The New York Times (New York, NY). "'Typhoid Mary' Must Stay: Court Rejects Her Plea to Quit Riverside Hospital." July 17, 1909. Accessed December 6, 2013. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50E12F73F5D12738DDDAE0994DF40 5B898CF1D3. This article demonstrates how Mary fought to obtain her rights and freedom. It explains the reasons why Mary's rights were taken away in order to protect the public from the disease that she unintentionally spread. In addition, it also showcases how the court upheld its responsibility to protect the people. During the time of this article, Mary filed a writ of habeas corpus in attempt to regain her freedom. However, the court decided that Mary was unable to return to society because she posed a threat of spreading disease. Therefore, the court upheld its responsibility to protect the public while infringing upon Mary's right to freedom.

Park, William H. "Typhoid Bacilli Carriers." The Journal of the American Medical Association, September 19, 1908, 981-82. Accessed December 29, 2013. doi:10.1001/jama.1908.25410120025002e. This article describes the different procedures that can be applied to control and monitor carriers. By controlling the carriers, the health department could protect the public's right to live a healthy life. In addition, the article includes how Mary's rights were violated, such as her treatment at North Brother Island. This article also showcases how Mary's isolation was justified because of the danger she presented to the public.

Reg. Dept. of Health, Communicable Diseases-Notification of Cases-Cultures in DiphtheriaCarriers, Rep., at 2844 (1915). Accessed December 27, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4572818. This public health report includes new regulations which state that healthy carriers could be regarded the same as a person who is physically sick with an infectious disease. This regulation showcases the impact of Mary's isolation. Before Typhoid Mary there were no regulations in place to distinguish the difference between healthy carriers and people who were ill with infectious diseases.

Sloane Maternity Hospital. Photograph. Museum of the City of New York. Accessed February 1, 2014. http://collections.mcny.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult_VPage&VBID=24UP1GGHO1F Y. This image shows the Sloane Maternity Hospital, where Mary was discovered cooking after she was released by the Health Department. It was at this hospital that Mary neglected her responsibility to never return to cooking.

Soper, George A. The Curious Carrier of Typhoid Mary. New York City, NY: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 1939. George Soper, the sanitary engineer whose investigations led to Mary Mallon, retells his encounters with Mary and her story as it progressed from beginning to end. He details how Mary's threat was a responsibility for the Health Department that needed forceful action to separate her from society. In addition, he describes the changes that occurred in Mary over time. He tells how she lost the fight in her to regain her rights. Overall, he examines the case of Typhoid Mary and what significance it had on Mary herself.

Stone, Willard J. "The Treatment of Typhoid Bacillus Carriers." The Journal of the American Medical Association 55, no. 20 (November 12, 1910): 1708-12. Accessed January 4, 2014. doi:10.1001/jama.1910.04330200018005. This article provides information about how healthy carrier regulations can control the disease in the city. It demonstrates the impracticality of isolation for healthy carriers and suggests other ways in which typhoid can be prevented. It also includes more information on typhoid fever itself.

Typhoid Mary Poster. Photograph. Accessed February 1, 2014. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-typhoid-mary-stayed-healthy100824/. This poster of a typhoid carrier showcases how a healthy carrier can transmit disease. It demonstrates how through Mary's cooking, she was able to transmit disease, which lead the Health Department to discover her.

The Washington Times (Washington D.C.). "The Law for the Leper." August 10, 1920. Accessed December 27, 2013. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1920-08-10/ed1/seq18/#date1=1836&index=6&rows=20&words=carrier+typhoid&searchType=basic&seque nce=0&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=typhoid+carrier&y=-221&x=921&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1. This articles explains that healthy carriers have no control over the disease they spread. Therefore, this article describes how carriers should not have their rights infringed for something they cannot change.

Secondary Sources Aronson, Stanley. "The Civil Rights of Mary Mallon." Rhode Island Medicine, November 1995, 311-12. This source analyzes the violation of Mary Mallon's rights. In addition, it explains how Mary's individual rights were infringed in order to protect and preserve the rights of the public.

Bourdain, Anthony. Typhoid Mary. Bloomsbury, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2001. This story of Typhoid Mary encompasses the background information regarding the historical case of Mary Mallon. In addition, this secondary source also provides primary information written by Mary herself, as she was locked in isolation. The cover of the book provides a visual image of Mary in a kitchen, which is where she spent her time before isolation.

Brooks, Janet. "The Sad and Tragic Life of Typhoid Mary." Canadian Medical Association Journal 154, no. 6 (March 15, 1996): 915-16. Accessed October 24, 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1487781/. The article entry from the Canadian Medical Association Journal describes the life of Mary Mallon in great detail, from the time she was first accused of transmitting typhoid fever to her death in isolation. The article also entails an analysis of how an individual's rights may be infringed to benefit the public health.

Conway, Lorie. Forgotten Ellis Island: The Extraordinary Story of American's Immigrant Hospital. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. This source provides primary images pertaining to immigration. It showcases the amount of immigrants who were travelling to America during the time that Mary Mallon came. In addition, it also explains how the immigrants brought diseases to America as they were travelling.

"Country Tyrone Ireland." Map. A Vision of Ireland through Time. http://www.visionofireland.org/place/20042. This map provides a visual of County Tyrone, Ireland, where Mary Mallon was born and raised.

Finkbeiner, Ann K. "Quite Contrary: Was 'Typhoid Mary' Mallon a Symbol of the Threats to Individual Liberty or a Necessary Sacrifice to Public Health." Sciences, September/October 1996, 38-43. Accessed December 29, 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11657398. This source exposes the legal difference between healthy carriers and physically sick, contagious people. It highlights the fact that the health department can remove any sick person; however, healthy carriers are not physically sick. In addition, this source also illustrates the reason for all the disease in New York City during the early twentieth century.

Jenkins, Leslie, and Bob Swacker. Irish New York. New York, NY: Universe Publishing, 2006. This source focuses on Irish immigrants who traveled to New York City during the early twentieth century. It includes information that explains why so many Irish immigrants came to America. In addition, it provides insight on the Irish immigrant lifestyle in America during the time of Mary Mallon.

Jones, Marian Moser. Protecting Public Health in New York City: 200 Years of Leadership. N.p.: Bureau of Communications, 2005. http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/bicentennial/historical-booklet.pdf. This historical pamphlet provides a detailed description on the history of the New York City Health Department. It also sets up the historical context which allowed scientists, like George Soper, to locate and test Mary. In addition, it provides background information regarding Mary's isolation. Along with the information, this source also provides various images, including Mary's release letter as well as the Health Department itself.

Leavitt, Judith Walzer. Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public's Health. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1996. This secondary source provides various perspectives on the case of Mary Mallon. It describes the multitude of rights that are present in the history of Typhoid Mary. From the rights of Mary Mallon to the rights of the New York City Health Department, this book analyzes the clash between individual rights and societal rights. A majority of the visual sources come from this source. It gives a variety of pictures from Mary's first isolation such as when she is transported to Willard Park Hospital. In addition, it also provides multiple drawings of Mary cooking as well as Mary's encounter with the Health Department officials. . "'Typhoid Mary' Strikes Back: Bacteriological Theory and Practice in Early TwentiethCentury Public Health." Isis 83 (December 1992): 608-29. Accessed November 11, 2013. http://web.mit.edu/jdc/Public/STS.005/Week%207/Leavitt,_Typhoid_Mary.pdf. This secondary journal is a great source for the demonstration of how the health department had altered its approach after discovering Mary Mallon. The entry briefly touches upon the area of bacteriology and details the story of Mary. This source is very useful because it explains the changes that the health department made due to the quarantine of Mary. This journal exhibits Mary Mallon's impact on the health department's policies and regulations.

Mendelsohn, Andrew. "'Typhoid Mary' Strikes Again: The Social and the Scientific in the Making of Modern Public Health." Isis 86, no. 2 (June 1995): 268-77. In this journal entry, the author describes the effects of Mary Mallon's quarantine. It discusses the various regulations that the New York City Health Department put into practice regarding healthy typhoid carriers, such as prohibiting any person who was known to be a healthy carrier from working in an occupation with food. In addition, it also examines Mary's case in relation to the debate between individual rights versus the public's right to protect itself from harmful diseases.

"Quarantine and Isolation." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed February 1, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/aboutlawsregulationsquarantineisolation.html. This source provides information about quarantine today. It explains that the federal government has the responsibility to quarantine any person with a communicable disease that is on the list of communicable diseases.

Typhoid Bacterium. Photograph. The New York Times. Accessed February 1, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/08/01/health/adam/1048Salmonellatyphiorga nism.html. This image provides a microscopic view of Salmonella typhi, the bacterium that Mary transmitted to her consumers.

Typhoid Death Rates. Photograph. The Rockefeller University. New York, NY. http://phe.rockefeller.edu/death/. This graph depicts how the number of typhoid fever cases decreased during the time of Mary's discovery. It highlights how the Health Department controlled the spread of typhoid after the isolation of Mary Mallon.

Typhoid Mary: The Most Dangerous Woman in America. Directed by Nancy Porter. PBS, 2004. This documentary describes the entire story of Mary Mallon in detail. It starts with the development of bacteriology and ends with the recognition of Mary's large impact on history. It explores the deprivation of Mary's rights as well as pointing out her failure to uphold her responsibilities, such as returning to positions where she handled food. This source also includes many opposing ideas, such as the unjust isolation of Mary to the actual justification of her imprisonment.

Van Detta, Jeffrey G. "`Typhoid Mary' Meets the ADA: A Case Study of the `Direct Threat' Standard Under the Americans With Disabilities Act." Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 22, no. 3: 849. Accessed October 22, 2013. doi:EBSCOhost. This secondary journal entry includes the basic information of Mary Mallon's story. It also focuses on a deep analysis of personal liberties versus public rights. The article continues the analysis by using Mary Mallon's case to demonstrate how new public health policies do not infringe on individual rights. For example, it describes Mary's case in terms of the current health policy, entitled The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It states that under modified policies, Mary would have been aided by the government to create a better life for herself, rather than being punished and isolated. Therefore, this article demonstrated that Mary's case provides an opportunity to examine the progression of health policy based on the situation Mary faced during her time. The article also provides further evidence of how Mary's rights were taken away for the common good of society.