Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary

Gr 5 Up—Just who was Typhoid Mary? In this second installment of a planned trilogy featuring deadly diseases, the first being Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat (Calkins Creek, 2014), Jarrow relates the account of Typhoid Mary, also known as Mary Mallon, and places it in historical context, explaining the devastating effects of typhoid fever. A symptomless carrier of typhoid, Mallon was a cook who inadvertently infected numerous people and was responsible for many deaths. Jarrow skillfully weaves Mallon's story into that of two other key figures working to fight and contain the disease: George Albert Soper, a sanitation engineer and typhoid expert; and Sara Josephine Baker, a doctor working at the New York City Department of Health. Citing newspaper articles, courtroom documents, and the personal accounts of several doctors, Jarrow acts as a medical detective, following the lives of Mallon, Soper, and Baker while illuminating a fascinating chapter in public health history. The work of Soper and Baker led to a dramatic decrease in typhoid cases as well as other infectious diseases. Mary, sadly, believed that she neither carried typhoid germs nor that she was responsible for outbreaks and spent most of her life virtually imprisoned on North Brother Island in New York's East River. A nonfiction page-turner relying upon extensive research and copious source notes, this is a fantastic addition to any library.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY