Soper had enough evidence to pursue the matter further, but he didn't have enough to convince Mallon when he found her at her new job . . . as a cook. Soper told Mallon that she was a carrier of typhoid and that he needed stool and blood samples to run tests. Mallon, feeling no ill health and never having had a noticeable case of typhoid, adamantly refused to cooperate, going as far as to chase Soper from the house where she worked using a large carving fork and energetically cursing him as she did so.

Soper was not to be deterred. He returned with a colleague and when he was again chased away, returned with the authorities. Mallon was taken into custody and tests were conducted. Most tests came back positive for typhoid and Soper published his findings on June 15, 1907.


Still, Mallon was not convinced. She felt healthy and hadn't shown any signs of typhoid. She also took exception to her treatment - she was being kept in a cottage on a relatively secluded island. She sued for freedom as she had broken no laws. The judge in the case granted her request on the condition that she not return to her previous career as a cook. Mallon promised, but just a few years later, a typhoid outbreak at a hotel brought attention to a new worker, Mrs. Brown. Brown was none other than Mary Mallon. This time, she was sent back to the cottage and she worked at the hospital on the island where she eventually gained the title of "nurse." All told, she spent 23 years on the island before her death in 1938.

Back to HCB News

More This Month in Medical History

More Industry Headlines