The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1907-04-07
LIVING TYPHOID FACTORY.
Fat and Healthy Cook Found to be
Source of Great Danger.

New York Press.
Leaving in many homes a trail of
fatalities which likened her progress
to the baleful movements of the mys-
FERROUS stranger in Poes 'Masque
of the Red Death" Mary IIverson, a
human "culture-tube," in whom con-
stantly are developed millions of germs
of typhoid fever--though she herself
has never had the disease, and is
seemingly immune fallen into the
hands of the health authorities.
The case is without parlell in
medical records. There have been
two cases of persons who have suf-
fered from typhoid fever carrying the
germs for several months after the
disease had run its course, but never
has there been an instance. as the
present. where a woman who never
had typhoid fever should prove a YER
table germ factory. Typhoid germs.
1t seems, thrive merrily in Mary, and
Mary is growing roster and healthier
every day. Mary would never have
known that she had an aptitude for
turning out typhoid bacilli had she not
been captured by DR.. George A. So
per, sanitary engineer, who lives in
the Westover. S91 West End Avenue.
Soper. who hunts typhoid germs out
like Sherlock Holmes ferrets crimi-
nails, ran her down and had her
sent to the willard Parker Hospital.
Mary insists she Is all right, and
sees no reason why she should be i'm
prisoned in a hospital because the
typhoid bacillus has settled On her as
a good propagation. Her protests have
become so strenuous that DR.. OAR
lington and other executive officials of
the health department are worrying
about her. They are in doubt as to
whether they have the legal right to
detain her much longer. She is dan
gerous to the community. they say,
but Is perfectly healthy herself. Fur
thermore. they are puzzled as to how
sassinating Mary, So doctors can do
nothing with Mary but hope her germ
factory will cease business.
DR.. Soper considers the case one of
the most interesting of his life. He
has been treasuring it for many weeks.
cautioning all the employees of the
health department to maintain secre-
cy. When he should have worked 1t
out in all it's details he wished to
startle the Academy of Medicine with
his unusual case. For that reason last
night he declined to discuss Mary. 1t
was learned, however, that DR.. Soper
had been called in by wealthy fam
lily in the upper West Side after one
of the family had been seized with
typhoid. He was commissioned to
find out just how 1T had been commu-
nicated to the patient. He made an
analysis of the water and of the foods
that were received into the house. He
studied every phase of the household.
but until he reached Mary he could
not get any clew to the germs. He
inquired where she had worked pre-
viously. and, sticking to that clew,
he visited Mary's former employers.
Then he learned that the second
family had suffered with typhoid. He
carried his investigation further back,
learning that in every family Mary
had worked for in the last year ~
phoid had appeared.
On studying Mary, Dr. Soper learn
ed that she was not any too neat, and
that she was not especially careful in
preparing the food for the table. He
asked her If she ever had typhoid fe-
yer, and she said she had not. DR..
Soper became greatly interested in
the case and at a loss to understand
the coincidence of Mary's cookery and
attacks of the disease. consulted Dr.
Darlington, DR.. Herman Biggs, and
DR.. walter Bensel of the health
department.
DR.. William II. Parke. chief of the
research bureau and bacteriologist of
the health department. and DR.. Rob
ert ] Wilson, superintendent of hos
pitfalls. were assigned to the case. The
girl was watched closely, and after
a week it was decided Mary was not
afflicted with typhoid fever or any
other contagious disease. Analysis.
however, slowed Mary was germ
factory, and that she was daily manu-
featuring thousands of the typhoid
germs and diffusing them wherever
she went.