The thing about Typhoid fever, the singular feature that has allowed the organism to survive the sanitary movement of the 19th century and the modern antibiotic era, is its ability to induce a carrier state. Most people infected with Typhoid fever recover, but is some, as much as 5%, continue to intermittently shed the bacteria in their stool without any symptoms. Most people have heard of Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid Mary. She was cook for wealthy NYC families in the early 20th century and is perhaps the best know Typhoid carrier. The risk carriers pose is mostly from preparing food, though being a healthcare worker is another risky occupation for a carrier.
Leela sent the microbiology samples to the lab for DNA analysis. Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) is a method used to determine if two or more strains share common genetic fragments suggesting a common origin. Not quite fingerprints, but close. The PFGE patterns of the seven patients was the same. Leela tallied the answers to the questionnaires finding a latin food restaurant in common for all but one case. We next headed out to the community to pay a visit to the restaurant.
