Elias grabbed the phone to call the ICU. In the world of microbiology, the difference between a tragedy and a recovery was often just a few microns of focus and the right page in a well-worn book.
Should we dive into a from the 5th edition, or Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology 5th Edition...
"Indole negative, oxidase positive," Elias muttered, checking the preliminary lab work against the text. "Growth on chocolate agar, but nothing on MacConkey." Elias grabbed the phone to call the ICU
Clamped in the stage of his microscope was a slide from the patient in Room 412—a high-schooler who had gone from a mild fever to multi-organ failure in forty-eight hours. Elias adjusted the fine focus. He expected the usual suspects: Staphylococcus aureus or maybe a aggressive Streptococcus . "Growth on chocolate agar, but nothing on MacConkey
Instead, he saw a field of gram-negative rods so faint they looked like ghosts.