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Typhoid Mary Essay

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Typhoid Mary

Typhoid Mary also is known as Mary Mallon who was a heavyset Irish immigrant cook, who was an asymptomatic carrier that can spread Typhoid to others and show no symptoms of Typhoid. She spread the disease to at least 49 people before getting quarantined in order to make the other people in the community safe. In 1910, when Dr. Eugene Porter was elected as the new commissioner, he decided to release Mary on the conditions of never becoming a cook again. Following 40 years, she became a cook again because of a high salary that the cooks used to get, and 25 people got sick with Typhoid. Due to this, she was quarantined for 23 years until she died. The case of typhoid mary shows how sanitary reforms played an important role in the history of American medicine. The example showed how Americans would eradicate or stop further spread of a disease in order to save everyone in the community. Mary was both a victim and a villain. She was a victim when she was got quarantined the first time because she wasn’t fully aware of the fact that she was an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid. However, she was a villain when she got quarantined the second time because she deliberately became a cook again knowing that she could make other people sick with …show more content…

Paul Ehrlich and it was referred to as an ideal drug (antibiotics) that specifically targets a disease without spreading to any other part of the body. Antibiotics were the magic bullet that treated infections without harming any other part of the body. Before antibiotics, an ear infection could lead to the brain and about 90% of people with bacterial meningitis died. The doctors weren’t much educated on bacterial infections and how to treat them. After antibiotics, doctors were able to help patients and cure their bacterial infections. The concept of magic bullet isn’t as simple as it looks because overusing antibiotics can lead to Antibiotic

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Soper managed to connect twenty-two cases to the households where Mary served, which convinced him that Mallon was the cook who endangered the public’s health. Soper visited Mallon’s house twice in order to explain to Mary that she was a healthy carrier of typhoid fever as well as to collect samples for

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After they have captured Mary Mallon the department faces many hardships with the public. The press immediately takes up Mary’s story, and one article was released on how the department treated Mary Mallon. “...officers Nevan and Hill arrest and imprison the poor, helpless cook, treating her like a criminal for possibly carrying disease, despite her obviously healthy state…” (pg.211) This article is biased, taking Mary’s side of the story. It states that Mary is healthy and that she could possibly carry the typhoid disease, even though they have run various tests on Mary, proving she has the germ and is a healthy carrier.

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