Typhoid Mary’s Story Seems Like an Apt Cautionary Tale for 2021

Mary Mallon unnecessarily infected 51 people and killed three

You’ve probably heard the tale of Typhoid Mary, but do you know her real story? Her tragedy feels ominously apt in the age of Covid and heated debate over face masks’ effectiveness.

Who was Typhoid Mary?

Her real name was Mary Mallon. At the tender age of fifteen, she immigrated from Ireland to the United States like so many others, looking for a brighter future. For some historical context, the Irish Potato Famine had occurred between 1845 and 1851. More than one million Irish people, mostly peasants, would die from starvation. The psychological, economic, and cultural scars were fresh and likely played a role in why Mallon found her hopes in the US’s direction.

Mallon crossed the pond and stayed with her aunt and uncle, and she quickly found work as a maid. It wouldn’t take long before she found employment as a cook and eventually leveled up and served in the kitchens of some of New York City’s wealthiest families. But tragically, typhoid would follow her, and people began to get gravely ill.

What no one knew about Mary is that she contracted typhoid while growing in her mother’s womb. Mary Mallon was an asymptomatic carrier, meaning she never showed symptoms or got sick. As a fresh-faced fifteen-year-old girl, she looked healthy and gave zero indication that she carried a deadly…