Bacteriologist Dr. Ida A. Bengtson (1881-1952) was one of the first female scientist employed by the Hygienic Laboratory of the Public Health Service, later the National Institutes of Health. One of Ida’s research interests was typhus, an exceedingly dangerous interest and she, like many other typhus researchers, eventually contracted the disease.  She was given a medal by the American Typhus Commission in 1947, but her most significant scientific achievement was identifying an organism called Clostridium botulinum which causes a paralytic disease in chickens.

Bacteriologist Dr. Ida A. Bengtson (1881-1952) was one of the first female scientist employed by the Hygienic Laboratory of the Public Health Service, later the National Institutes of Health.

One of Ida’s research interests was typhus, an exceedingly dangerous interest and she, like many other typhus researchers, eventually contracted the disease.  She was given a medal by the American Typhus Commission in 1947, but her most significant scientific achievement was identifying an organism called Clostridium botulinum which causes a paralytic disease in chickens.