Typhoid Mary Quarantined: The Ethics of Public Health
Typhoid outbreaks at Sloane Hospital for Women forced authorities to re-arrest Mary Mallon on March 27, 1915. She returned to North Brother Island and remained confined there until her death because she refused gallbladder removal. This permanent isolation established a legal precedent that public health officials could indefinitely detain asymptomatic carriers who repeatedly endangered communities.
March 27, 1915
111 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 27
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