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Scientists solve mystery of 'Typhoid Mary'


Saru

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In the early 1900s, Mary Mallon infected 51 people with typhoid despite not succumbing to it herself.

How exactly was the Irish immigrant known as Typhoid Mary able to infect about 50 people in New York City in the early 1900s without succumbing to the illness herself? Scientists say they are now close to cracking the case.

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A tragic tale. :(

A tragic tale indeed but at the same time very interesting. :unsure:

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A tragic tale indeed but at the same time very interesting. :unsure:

Agreed. I find the mechanisms of human pathogens to be incredibly sophisticated, given that our immune system is one of the most robust and advanced within the animal kingdom.

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She just wouldn't step up her personal hygiene habits or change her occupation. Okay, she tried a laundry job, but shot straight back to cooking [wiki]. Criminal negligence, really. She knew people could die because of her. But I will say, it's unfortunate she became a typhoid carrier in the first place.

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I agree d e v i c e, it's negligent certainly. However the incarceration for 30 years is quite horrendous.

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She just wouldn't step up her personal hygiene habits or change her occupation. Okay, she tried a laundry job, but shot straight back to cooking [wiki]. Criminal negligence, really. She knew people could die because of her. But I will say, it's unfortunate she became a typhoid carrier in the first place.

You might want to read this:

Link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/typhoid-mary-villain-or-victim.html

To be sure, Mary Mallon was not entirely blameless when she knowingly returned to cooking in 1915, but the blame must be more broadly shared. Much of what Mallon did can be explained by events greater than herself and beyond her control. It is only in the full context of her life and the actions of the health officials and the media that we can understand the personal position of Mary Mallon and people like her—people whom society accuses of endangering the health of others—and can hope to formulate policies that will address their individual needs while still permitting governments to do what they are obligated to do, act to protect the public's health

.

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I agree d e v i c e, it's negligent certainly. However the incarceration for 30 years is quite horrendous.

Boo-hoo. Dying of typhoid is even worse.

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They sent her to jail called north brother island in New York.

The place is cool its a banded now. Only old buildings remain I bet its haunted.then when she got out of jail she started cooking and people where geting sick and it was her she changed her name lol

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cooking was the only thing she knew, it's not easy to change your life like that. and personal hygiene wasn't that hot back then either

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Okay so she was p***ed because the government didn't place her in other jobs that would make as much money or give her the same social opportunities as being a cook did. So she decided she knew better than doctors and because their explanation of what she was doing (despite not being ill herself) to others didn't resonate with her - didn't bring forth any emotion - she went right back to doing what she wasn't supposed to.

Yep. Gotta admire a selfish woman like Typhoid Mary. :tu:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Growing up, I remember there was a woman who worked at a local McDonald's who was accused of being a typhoid carrier (she wasn't). But the damage had been done--only McDonald's I ever saw that closed. As for Typhoid Mary, knowing that she could infect people by doing her job but doing it anyway is not negligence in my eyes, it's criminal. Think of her 30 years as a jail sentence for murder for those three people who died.

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