Chapter 14, Problem 1CCS

A Deadly Carrier

In 1937, a man employed to lay water pipes was found to be the source of a severe epidemic of typhoid fever. The man, who had recovered from typhoid, was still an asymptomatic carrier of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, the bacterium that causes the disease. He habitually urinated at his job site and in the process contaminated the town’s water supply with bacteria from his bladder. Over 300 cases of typhoid fever developed, and 43 people died before the man was identified as the carrier.

1. 1. How do you think health officials were able to identify the source of this typhoid epidemic?
2. 2. Given that antibiotics were not generally available in 1937, how could health officials end the epidemic, short of removing the man from the job site?