In 1906, George Sober, a freelance sanitary engineer, was hired to investigate several

outbreaks of typhoid fever in wealthy New York households.

The reason why these outbreaks were mysterious is that typhoid fever was only something which occurred in places with unsanitary conditions.

What Soper discovered radically changed our knowledge of infectious disease and how they spread.

Learn more about Typhoid Mary and how she was discovered

on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Tifoy Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection caused by the TIFI variant of the bacterium

salmonella and Erica.

It is a highly contagious disease that's transmitted through

contaminated food and water or through direct contact with an infected person.

Symptoms of typhoid fever can include high fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and a rash of

flat rose-colored spots. In severe cases, complications such as intestinal bleeding, pneumonia,

or meningitis can occur.

We don't hear much about typhoid fever anymore, which is a good thing.

Because it's spread through bacterial contamination, improved sanitation, water chlorination,

and food handling have dramatically slashed cases over the last 100 years.

While typhoid fever hasn't been totally eradicated, it mostly only occurs in developing countries

with poor water treatment, and the disease can be

treated with antibiotics if caught in time. This however was not the case at the

start of the 20th century. Typhoid fever was a disease that affected and killed

millions.

Such notable people as President William Henry Harrison, Wilbur Wright, and Prince Albert

all died from typhoid fever.

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