Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary, was quarantined on March
27, 1915.
Here are a few things you might not know about Typhoid Mary, the
first person identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid
fever:
One: She worked as a cook for eight families in New York before her
first quarantine, seven of the families had outbreaks of typhoid
fever while she worked there. Following that quarantine, she
returned to work as a cook and infected dozens more people.
Two: She admitted to poor hand-washing hygiene. In addition to
refusing to wash her hands, she refused to stop working as a cook
and changed her name at least once to continue working.
Three: She spent the last 23 of her life in quarantine on North
Brother Island, located in the East River between The Bronx and
Rikers Island. She died in 1935, six years after suffering a
paralyzing stroke. An autopsy found she had live typhoid bacteria
in her gallbladder.