Editing Mary Mallon (section)

=== Investigation ===
[[George Soper]], an investigator hired by the Oyster Bay property owner after the outbreak there, had been trying to determine the cause of typhoid outbreaks in affluent families, when it was known that the disease typically occurred in unsanitary conditions. He discovered that a female Irish cook, who fit the physical description he had been given, was involved in all of the outbreaks. He was unable to locate her because she generally left after an outbreak began, without giving a forwarding address. The Park Avenue outbreak helped to identify Mallon as the source of the infections. Soper learned of the case while it was still active and discovered Mallon was the cook.<ref name="TheStraightDope" />

Soper first met Mallon in the kitchen of the Bownes' Park Avenue penthouse and accused her of spreading the disease. Though Soper himself recollected his behavior "as diplomatic as possible", he infuriated Mallon and she threatened him with a carving fork.<ref name="TheStraightDope" /><ref>{{cite journal|last = Soper|first = George A.|title = The work of a chronic typhoid germ distributor|journal = [[J Am Med Assoc]]|volume = 48|issue = 24|pages = 2019–2022|date = June 15, 1907|doi = 10.1001/jama.1907.25220500025002d|url = https://zenodo.org/record/1423366|access-date = July 5, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191221191415/https://zenodo.org/record/1423366|archive-date = December 21, 2019|url-status = live}}</ref> When Mallon refused to give samples, Soper decided to compile a five-year history of her employment. He found that, of the eight families that had hired Mallon as a cook, members of seven claimed to have contracted typhoid fever.<ref>{{cite book|last=Satin|first=Morton|title=Death in the Pot|year=2007|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=New York|page=169}}</ref> Then Soper learned where Mallon's boyfriend lived and arranged a new meeting there. He took Raymond Hoobler to persuade Mary to give them urine and stool samples for analysis. Mallon again refused to cooperate, claiming that typhoid was everywhere and that the outbreaks had happened because of contaminated food and water. At that time, the concept of healthy carriers was unknown even to healthcare workers.{{sfn|Adler|Mara|2016|p=137}}{{sfn|Soper|1939|pp=704–705}}{{sfn|Rogers|2017|pp=72–74}}

Soper published his findings on June 15, 1907, in the [[JAMA (journal)|'' Journal of the American Medical Association'']].<ref name=Newsday>{{cite news|author=Ochs, Ridgely|date=2007|title=Dinner with Typhoid Mary|newspaper=[[Newsday]]}}</ref> He wrote:

<blockquote>
It was found that the family changed cooks on August 4. This was about three weeks before the typhoid epidemic broke out. The new cook, Mallon, remained in the family only a short time and left about three weeks after the outbreak occurred. Mallon was described as an Irish woman about 40 years of age, tall, heavy, single. She seemed to be in perfect health.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://orauportal.fda.gov/courseware/FD202W100/SCORM_FD202_Module_3_Microbiology/Module_3_Dinner_With_Typhoid_Mary.pdf|title=Dinner With Typhoid Mary|website=FDA|access-date=July 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221191421/https://orauportal.fda.gov/courseware/FD202W100/SCORM_FD202_Module_3_Microbiology/Module_3_Dinner_With_Typhoid_Mary.pdf|archive-date=December 21, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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