rumor mill

Another week of conventional and real time PCRs. The most interesting thing I've seen here in the three months I've been employed by the state was the Bastrop food poisoning cases (and I can actually talk about these, there was news coverage and a press release). It has also run its course and is now old news. Yes, my area, and specifically me, tested them, but they were negative for the genes I test for. As well as everything else that was tested for, including the reportedly previously detected shiga toxin. So they have been shipped to the CDC, who will hopefully figure out what may have caused the outbreak.

Much more interesting than the actual results was to see the rumor mill running tangibly. Not that the rumor mill is always running around here, usually at high gear, but that's about people. I try not to pay attention to the gossip and there's no way to validate what you hear. The local news correctly reported an outbreak in Bastrop with one child dead and another five individuals ill. No connection between the cases was apparent. Shiga toxin was detected by a local lab. By the time I heard people standing around in the halls talking about the outbreak it was six dead from eating at Whataburger in Bastrop. Remotely possible if untrue. I however, enjoy escalating things ridiculously, as does my lab mate. Truly blowing things to ridiculous proportions.

A: Have you gotten samples from the outbreak yet?
T: The one in Bastrop?
A: Yeah, it's riduculous. People here, who should know better, are saying six people died from eating at Whataburger.
T: Really? I heard I heard it was twenty four people died at Whataburger.
A: Yeah, twenty four people killed in a drive by shooting in at the Whataburger in Bastrop. With shiga toxin coated bullets!