A biology lesson in Utah takes a turn for the worse.
The worker bees here at Back Page HQ love nothing more than a good old-fashioned cock-up.
Be it a long hot soak in the spa tub of schadenfreude or simply a case of “there but for the grace of god go I”, self-inflicted misfortune rarely fails to tickle the ribs.
Previously we have delighted in regaling tales of what happens when you use the incinerator at an animal shelter to dispose of many kilos of seized methamphetamine, and our personal favourite concerning the ill-advised decision to get rid of a beached whale carcass by blowing it up with dynamite.
Today’s offering may not quite match those major misjudgements, but it did still raise a wry smile.
The blunder involves a homework assignment for a large class of science undergraduates at a university in Utah, and what can go wrong when you get a little sloppy with your labelling practices.
In what appeared to be a straightforward project, a group of students were tasked with identifying a bacterium known as P. shigelloides, a relatively harmless pathogen known to cause diarrhoea when ingested.
But as lab results came in, the students were not best pleased to discover the specimens handed out for identification were seemingly the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, a potentially deadly pathogen that causes meningitis.
Yikes!
Unlike our lab-coated and gloved students, folks who are handling that nasty little critter are expected to kit themselves out with double gloves, fit-tested N95 masks and wear disposable clothing at the very least.
Once the error had been discovered, all 33 students who had been exposed to the bacteria were put on an antibiotic regimen, with two of the cohort seeking medical attention due to possible exposure symptoms, including lumbar punctures.
Thankfully, no-one ended up contracting meningitis because, as it transpired, further laboratory testing showed the offending bacteria not to be N. meningitidis after all. Instead, it was a far less dangerous bug called Neisseria sicca, which is commonly found in the upperrespiratory tract.
A subsequent investigation undertaken by the university and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, “found inadequate inventory controls for identifying, labelling, storing and segregating biological materials according to handling practices and containment conditions”.
Not surprisingly, the findings prompted the university to undertake an “overhaul of stockroom documentation, supervision and training protocols”.
So no harm done then – unless you count an unnecessary course of antibiotics and a couple of, what we are told are, quite painful and invasive lumbar punctures.
Holly@medicalrepublic.com.au has donned the PPE and is ready to handle your infectious story tips.
