Mary Mallon
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
We truly have learned little as a society about how to deal with infectious disease on a wide scale. Today, several state governors are opting out of federal unemployment protection in an effort to force people back into labor that doesn't value their health and safety or pay enough to live decently[1].
1. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/558229-first-four-s...
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoratio...
Some statistics say that current U.S. pandemic fatalities are very close (615k).
The 1918 flu had much higher fatality rates elsewhere in the world.
Wikipedia says the number of deaths due to 1957 pandemic is between 1 and 4 million [1].
World population is about 3 times what it was in 1957, so maybe the 1957 pandemic was worse per-capita, but I think with the large error bars it's hard to say for sure.
Also, the current pandemic isn't over yet (even if it has slowed down substantially in those parts of the world that have good vaccination campaigns).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957%E2%80%931958_influenza_pa...
Calling her by her real name is a bit more respectful, and when people click on the link without recognizing the name (as I did), it serves as a good reminder that she was a regular human being born with an unfortunate medical condition.
- Irish
- woman
- unmarried
- being told she can't do the only profession she knew
With the "asymptomatic story" being delivered by male doctors, likely US born, you can understand why she believed it was simply another case of people out to get her!
She was the X-Men's Rogue of the early 1900s, suffered a horrible fate tied to a decently long life, and to this day her name is invoked in mockery.
During this pandemic society has been extremely aware of the dangers of assuming someone is fine and not a carrier by their appearance - we've managed to normalize temperature testing, hand washing and wearing a mask regardless of your symptoms. I wouldn't hold ill will against Mary Mallon myself - I think her terrible experience ended up being a huge wake up call to public safety.
"The public" is really fucking bad at learning responsible behavior.
How would you response if a government bureaucrat showed up and told YOU that you can't be allowed work because you have a unique condition never before seen by science? Would you simply believe them?
The wiki goes on to say that other carriers of Salmonella Typhus were not villified.
'Other healthy typhoid carriers identified in the first quarter of the 20th century include Tony Labella, an Italian immigrant, presumed to have caused over 100 cases (with five deaths); an Adirondack guide dubbed "Typhoid John", presumed to have infected 36 people (with two deaths); and Alphonse Cotils, a restaurateur and bakery owner.'
If Mary Mallon were alive today it'd be in extremely poor taste to call her Typhoid Mary to her face - but that name seems to be the historical consensus and we're not going to change it on HN.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus it was a whole thing but he put significant effort into being the heir in name and perception of that other Caeser guy.
"Plagues and Bacon" by Hail Mary Mallon (Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic). Some NSFW lyrics. It's a jam.