History Notes

Author: Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

Origins: Current Events In Historical Perspective presents short audio discussions of the historical context of some of today's most important issues. Check out origins.osu.edu for the written versions of these podcasts and more!
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Who was Typhoid Mary?
Wednesday, 17 December, 2025

In the early 1900s, Mary Mallon, a cook, was unknowingly ahealthy carrier of Typhoid fever.Written by Claudia Jansen, Morgan Metz, and Marian MoserJones. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available athttps://origins.osu.edu/read/who-was-typhoid-mary. This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.Learn More:· Ashurst, John V., Justina Truong, and Blair Woodbury. “Typhoid Fever (Salmonella Typhi),” StatPearls [online book] Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan–. PMID: 30085544. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519002/· Bourdain, Anthony. Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010.· Hasian, M.A. Power, Medical Knowledge, and theRhetorical Invention of “Typhoid Mary”. Journal of Medical Humanities 21, 123–139 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009074619421· “Individual who tested positive for COVID-19being held in Spokane County Jail after refusing to self-isolate,” NBC Right Now (Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA), July 2, 2020, https://www.nbcrightnow.com/regional/individual-who-tested-positive-for-covid-19-being-held-in-spokane-county-jail-after-refusing/article_ee6606ca-a4b2-5dec-824c-c0d4f184d1e9.html· Leavitt, Judith Waltzer. Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996), pp. 16-18, 27-29, 45-46, 71. “Spokane health officer issues order to jail COVID-19 positive man who refused to self-isolate,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), July 2, 2020. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jul/02/spokane-health-officer-issues-order-to-jail-covid· Teicher A. Typhoid Mary Was Not a Super-Spreader(and Super-Spreaders Are Not "Typhoid Marys"). Am J PublicHealth. 2023 Dec;113(12):1249-1253. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2023.307434. Epub 2023 Oct 12. PMID: 37824810; PMCID: PMC10632844, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37824810/· “Tuberculosis patient in Washington who wasarrested for refusing treatment is finally cured,” NBC News, July 23, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/washington-tuberculosis-patient-cured-arrested-refusing-treatment-rcna163302.