Lab Professional (L) Calls Public Health Official (H).

H: Hello, Health Department…

L: Hi, this is John Rose, Lab Director at Lakeside Memorial. I’m calling about these weird specimens I’m seeing in the lab.

H: Hi John! This is Chuck. You must be psychic. I was just about to call you. What’s up?

L: I’m reviewing the gram stains of peritoneal fluid specimens we got from the emergency room last night…the results are kind of unusual. I spoke with the doc who sent them… Morris, uh, Nina Morris. Anyway, sounds like her patients are sick as dogs, and I think they all got admitted to the hospital.So I was wondering …have you have gotten calls about G.I. cases?

H: I just got off the phone after about a dozen calls from folks that have complained about nausea and severe diarrhea. They’re worried about food poisoning, and after all the calls so am I. I interviewed each of them with our standard Foodborne Illness Survey. Uh, there are a couple of sets of two who are from the same household, but the rest are from different places. I can’t see an obvious link between the food they’ve eaten recently…there’s no common restaurants. The three sick people in one of the households just got back from a road trip and brought home groceries from another city. A couple ate at restaurants, but not in the same area of town. One guy’s a vegan, and there are a couple of vegetarians also. At the moment, I really don’t have a clue. I was just sitting down to try to map out these cases to figure what they have in common. Some of these folks sound pretty darn sick.

L: Listen, I don’t know if you’re interested, but I made plans to meet with the doc and probably an infection control guy around 3 today. Is there any chance you could come down here and join us at Lakeside? H: Sure, a deadline is just the kick in the butt I need to get this together right away. What room are you meeting in?

L: There’s a conference room on the first floor of the hospital. Just to the right, past the information desk. See you at 3.

H: Great. See you then.