The Enhanced Doctor

Chapter 1257: Chapter 1257: The Killer Hidden in the Refrigerator

"Doctor, are you saying someone did this to me?"

The patient asked anxiously.

"Uh... well, it’s not someone who did this to you. Think carefully, did you eat anything cold that wasn’t heated, which your wife and kids didn’t eat?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Didn’t we all eat it?" The patient replied hesitantly.

"Beef, you ate the beef stew, the child and I didn’t eat it because we saw there was fat on top." The patient’s wife reminded him.

"But we all ate that beef, just not later on." The patient said.

"That sounds about right, your situation could be an infection caused by Listeria bacteria." Liu Banxia said.

"This bacterium, you see, is often called the hidden killer in refrigerators because it can grow even in the cold environment of a fridge."

"Doctor, does that mean our fridge is full of bacteria?" The patient’s wife couldn’t stay calm.

If that’s the case, what about the children? If adults become this severely affected after eating the bacteria, what would happen if the children ate it?

Liu Banxia nodded, "It’s very possible. We will send someone over to empty your refrigerator, then sample it to check what food is carrying the bacteria."

"But don’t panic too much, this bacteria is actually widespread in nature. Still, it’s quite uncommon in the winter."

"If certain processed foods contain this bacteria, then we have a big problem. However, if it is indeed this bacteria, the medication we are currently administering is correct."

"Moreover, he has only just fallen ill, so we are somewhat ahead in the treatment. Don’t worry, our medical staff are taking care of things here. For your safety, we’ll still arrange for someone to collect samples from your home."

The patient’s wife could only nod, she was truly frightened.

Although the name of this bacteria sounds human-like, it doesn’t conduct itself in a human way, it harms people mercilessly.

Liu Banxia has also mentioned that the current medication is appropriate, so she went with them to the Wang family home.

"If it’s really Listeria, will the investigation be troublesome?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Troublesome? It’s extremely troublesome. Because the food contaminated with Listeria might be secondarily polluted, so we have to trace it step by step." Zhang Ping responded.

"During the New Year period, there are so many purchases, it’s hard to tell which food carried the bacteria. Poultry, root crops, dairy products, all these are possible."

"And this bacteria also has a certain incubation period, which makes it even harder to trace. But it must be investigated because it’s too dangerous. Take this patient for example, even if he doesn’t appear critically ill, he’ll need at least a month of treatment."

"The medication now needs adjusting, we must increase the dosage. Otherwise, the effects won’t be good enough, sigh... it’s such a headache dealing with this bacterium."

It truly is a headache, sometimes tracing the source of the infection is really hard. But this bacterium is so rampant it’s overwhelming.

Even if you reheat your food, if it’s not evenly cooked, you’ll still run the risk of infection inadvertently.

No wonder it’s called the hidden killer in refrigerators—silently, you’ll get infected without knowing how you got it.

Every family has a refrigerator, and uneaten food and prepared ingredients go into it. Cross-contamination can make things even more chaotic.

If you have a small cut on your hand, or rub your eyes, it drastically increases your chance of infection.

"Teacher Zhang, have we ever treated a patient with Listeria in our hospital before?" Xu Yino asked curiously.

"A few years ago, we did, it was an employee from a dairy station." Zhang Ping replied.

"These cases aren’t very common, but if the source isn’t identified and controlled, there could be a sudden outbreak."

Xu Yino nodded, indicating understanding.

"Teacher Liu, how did you determine it was Listeria?" Li Hao asked.

"The patient had hives before, Listeria is most likely to exploit those with weak immune systems." Liu Banxia said.

"Even if it was a few months ago that he had hives, it still indicates the patient’s immune function is somewhat compromised. But this is also my first time dealing with such a patient, it’s a first."

"Does that mean if the patient had strong immune function, this bacteria wouldn’t be able to cause trouble?" Li Hao continued to ask.

Liu Banxia nodded, "Children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with immune function deficiencies, they’re all vulnerable groups. However, it seems like young people’s health today isn’t that great either."

"This bacterium is an intracellular parasite, to eliminate it depends entirely on cellular immune function. Now you see the importance of immune function, it’s really no joke."

Li Hao smirked, he’s always thought immune function was very important.

As a doctor, how could you overlook it?

"My goodness, haven’t similar cases happened abroad quite a lot?"

Xu Yino, who was checking her phone, suddenly spoke up.

"Avocado skins, chicken products, sausages, and so on—wow, they’re really aggressive. It can penetrate into the internal tissues of vegetables within thirty seconds."

"So basically, if you give it the chance, it’ll cause major issues. It’s truly aggressive, could lead to Listeria contamination across entire fields of crops."

"What should we do from now on? As a doctor, I’m starting to feel a bit scared. I need to make time to exercise, at least half an hour every day."

Liu Banxia felt a bit helpless; although Listeria was aggressive, it didn’t need to be something to fear.

Healthy people might ingest it too, but the symptoms are usually mild. It really targets people with weakened immune systems, which is quite annoying.

"Luckily it’s winter now, making certain investigations easier. If it were summer, with so many fruits around, where would you even start looking?" Liu Banxia said.

"Teacher Liu, want to bet whether it’s from the beef stew?" Xu Yino suggested.

"No bets, anything is possible here. The possibility of secondary contamination is high too, who could say for sure?" Liu Banxia quickly shook his head.

Recently, Liu had to be "careful with words." Whatever the matter, caution was necessary when speaking. Otherwise, he might end up being labeled as having a jinxed tongue, and he didn’t want to carry that reputation.

Though he was worried earlier due to the patient’s symptoms, the diagnosis was almost certain now, and everyone was back to their tasks.

In the unique hospital environment, this is just normal. Healthy people wouldn’t come here, and those who do usually have some symptoms.

Treat as needed, report as needed. The patient currently is in the initial stage of the condition, so the treatment pressure isn’t that high.

"Teacher Liu, the lab results are out; it’s confirmed as Listeria virus." Xu Yino ran over around five in the afternoon.

"Alright, let’s admit them to Neurology first. Depending on the situation, we can consider sending them to the ICU; the condition needs to progress a bit more." Zhang Ping said.

"Okay, send them over. When the CDC arrives, I’ll have them reach out to you directly." Liu Banxia said.

"By the way, how’s the Zika virus investigation going?" Zhang Ping asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, that guy was something else. After returning to the country, he went out for two days of fun without a break. Not sure why he’s so capable of causing trouble, but thankfully neither of them are pregnant nor planning to have kids soon." Liu Banxia said.

"Sometimes I feel like he really embarrasses us men. Why couldn’t he hold back a bit? He probably stirred things up abroad too; if not night after night of partying, then close enough."

"Wow, his transmission chain must be pretty long, right? And because it spread this way, probably lots of families will have arguments." Zhang Ping remarked.

"The problem is, it’s hard to find people like this, who barely use WeChat or Alipay for transactions? Anyway, the pursuit hasn’t been fully completed yet." Liu Banxia added.

"That’s why men are the worst." Xu Yino dropped a comment and strolled away with her hands behind her back.

It was a rare break, better to chat with the nurses instead of working; it’s the New Year, happiness is a must.

Liu Banxia also took out his phone to video chat with Qiaoqiao for a while. Being on duty during the festive season felt a bit lonely.

Even with so many people at the emergency center to chat with him, it couldn’t compare to seeing his two little babies.

"How’s your recovery going?" Qiaoqiao asked.

"Nothing’s wrong now. I just went for a walk outside with them, and I don’t feel anything off." Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Seems like my health is pretty good. By the way, while cooking at home recently, try to make sure things are fully cooked before eating. We found a Listeria patient."

Then Liu Banxia explained Listeria to Qiaoqiao.

"Oh my God, does this mean we have to throw everything out from the fridge and freezer?" Qiaoqiao said, frustrated.

"It’s not that extreme. As long as you pay some attention during cooking, there shouldn’t be a big problem." Liu Banxia said.

"Plus, we don’t drink fresh milk at home, so in normal circumstances we’re fine. It might just be an isolated incident; don’t worry too much, just be a bit more cautious in everyday life."

"Ugh...I regret marrying you, can’t even enjoy eating now." Qiaoqiao said, helplessly.

"Haha, too late to return goods. Have fun at home; I’ll be back tomorrow night." Liu Banxia joked.

"Alright then, if you’ve got downtime while on duty at night, try to get some sleep." Qiaoqiao advised and hung up the call.

Currently, Liu Banxia dared not think too deeply, even less speak out randomly. Who knew when his jinxed mouth reputation could fade away? If that stuck, who would dare speak recklessly?

Stretching hugely, he decided to go out to chat with everyone.

After all, the New Year is different from usual days.

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