Interference by Congenital Disorders of the Newborn

Today is Friday and I just spent the last 45 minutes laying on my bed with my laptop on my incredibly shrinking tummy (weight loss is still going well) watching the new episode of Grey's. Isn't that weird....considering the episode was LAST NIGHT!!! That's right......in my haste to fly through a subject that I have little interest in (see title above), I totally forgot that Grey's started at 9pm. And......I MISSED IT!!!! I can't feel too bad because Layne, my Grey's buddy, also forgot....although she didn't forget to remind me that we both forgot this morning at 7:30am while I was eating breakfast. I was so disappointed and desperate to find the episode that instead of having my usual morning breakfast over ESPN highlights, I preceded to search websites as far away as Japan looking for the episode. I did find it (thank you sidereel.com) and downloaded it....and as mentioned, just finished watching it. It was worth the scramble!!!

So today I spent most of the wonderful Grenadian day heavily involved in pooh.....i mean, in Gastrointestinal Pathology. I covered lots of info....I only hope that I can remember it all. I did break for about an hour to listen to a Micro lecture that I skipped yesterday and I heard an amazing thing. Baby rabbits can become "aerosolized". What??? I had to rewind to listen again because I apparently missed something. So, here is the story:

The prof was taking about the bacteria Francisiella tularensis, which by the way is on the CDC's Category A list for Biological Warfare/ Terrorism Agents. He mentions a colleague in New Jersey who was mowing his lawn one day in the early spring and apparently ran over a rabbit nest full of baby rabbits. Now, some of them made it but a few were "aerosolyzed" (his words not mine). Why is this important??? Because the above virus is found in wild animals like squirrels, deer, beavers, and rabbits. It is usually transmitted by ticks and when that happens you get an ulcer form of the disease with little chance of death. But, this bacteria can also infect humans by inhalation and when that happens, you get a pneumonia form that equates with almost certain death. So, because the mower made aerosolyzed bunnies, this prof had the unfortunate pleasure of breathing in the bunny/bacteria particles. In less than a week, his cough, difficulty breathing, fever, and chills progressed to a sitting on deaths doorstep disease. The doctors had no idea what this man was suffering from. What Doctor would ever think of taking a history and physical for an incredibly sick patient and ask "So, have you mowed over any cute baby bunnies lately???" Of course, once all of the "usual suspects" for pneumonia were ruled out, and more cultures were done the doctors eventually found the bacteria, were able to treat the man and he lived. The morale of the story.....well, from my point of view, even the most obscure, rarely seen/suspected disease in humans can pop up at any time in a patient....from your point of view, don't mow over bunnies!!

Everyone have a great night!!!! :)