I Am Diagnosed as a Medical Titan

Chapter 172: Chapter 133: Whistleblower (Part 2)

Jiang He: ”What about medication?”

Ke Zheng answered, ”After ruling out SARS and avian flu, we confirmed it was Influenza A. Our diagnosis is a severe infection from a variant of seasonal Influenza A. The patient has been moved to an isolated single room under both droplet and contact precautions. We’ve started him on the antiviral Oseltamivir, 75mg twice a day. We also put him on Methylprednisolone to suppress the inflammatory response, supplemented with high-dose vitamin C and other supportive care.”

Jiang He stared at the lab report and suddenly asked, ”Dr. Ke, since the rapid screening for Influenza A was positive, did the hospital perform any further PCR subtyping tests? Have you determined if it’s H3N2 or the common seasonal H1N1?”

Ke Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. ”Jiang He, our lab at Affiliated Hospital No. 1 doesn’t have primers for that many different subtypes. Clinically, as long as we confirm it’s Influenza A and rule out the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu, we routinely default to a diagnosis of seasonal flu.”

Jiang He’s heart sank.

This was a major failing of the medical system in 2008.

In this era, the frontline diagnostic capabilities of hospitals were still lacking.

Most of the time, doctors could only make educated guesses through a process of elimination.

Once they ruled out the known high-risk options, everything else was classified as the common flu.

But that was precisely what made it so deadly.

Jiang He pressed for more details. ”When the patient was admitted, did he have any gastrointestinal symptoms in addition to the respiratory ones? Like nausea or frequent diarrhea?”

Ke Zheng glanced at the nurse’s admission chart, a hint of surprise on his face. ”He did. Three bouts of watery diarrhea yesterday. But it’s common for foreign patients to have trouble adjusting right after a flight, so we treated it as a concurrent case of acute gastroenteritis...”

Jiang He then asked, ”The patient is 42, previously healthy, with no underlying conditions. If this were seasonal flu, how could it progress from a common cold to severe ’white lung’ with bilateral pulmonary consolidation and his blood oxygen dropping to 88% in just 48 hours?”

Ke Zheng was at a loss for words.

For some reason, he was suddenly reminded of the pressure he felt as a student when a professor put him on the spot.

’Wait a second, which one of us is the director here?’

Jiang He closed the patient’s chart.

The good news was that the hospital’s emergency response and course of treatment were correct.

The bad news was...

Jiang He said,

”...I believe this is a brand-new recombinant virus that has jumped the species barrier, a mix of genetic fragments from swine flu, avian flu, and human flu. Moreover, the patient has already passed the optimal 48-hour window for treatment after the onset of symptoms.”

The color drained from Ke Zheng’s face.

”Who has he been in close contact with over the past few days?” Jiang He turned to Zhou Guanglin.

Zhou Guanglin jolted, forcing himself to remember. ”He’s been at his hotel the last few days. Close contact... The room’s housekeeper? The translator, Xiaosun? And the taxi driver who’s been driving him everywhere, Old Lin?”

”Where are they now?” Jiang He pressed.

”Xiaosun said he was feeling a little sick and took the day off. As for Old Lin and the housekeeper... I’m not sure.”

Jiang He said, ”President Zhou, send me their full names, ages, and ID numbers. Dr. Ke, notify the hospital’s Infection Control Department and the CDC immediately. We need to track these three people.”

Ke Zheng couldn’t help but caution him, ”Jiang He, it’s peak flu season right now. This is just one isolated severe case. Without clear evidence of a cluster outbreak, alerting the CDC to start contact tracing... won’t that cause unnecessary panic?”

Jiang He knew Ke Zheng had a point.

In the medical system, speculation without evidence was tantamount to fearmongering.

In truth, his certainty about the diagnosis came mostly from the knowledge he had from his rebirth.

Without that foreknowledge, he wouldn’t be able to make such a definitive claim right now.

Jiang He frowned.

’This is going to be even more troublesome than I thought.’

...

「Eight hours earlier. An urban village in Tianhe District.」

In a rented room, Wang Cuiping, a housekeeper in her fifties, lay on a plank bed. She was wrapped in two thick quilts but still couldn’t stop shivering.

”COUGH, COUGH... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH...”

The harsh sound of her coughing echoed through the room.

Her husband came over with a cup of hot water. He felt her forehead—it was burning up.

”Cuiping, you’re burning up. Let’s go to the hospital.”

”Go to the hospital for what? Just to register costs dozens of yuan, and an X-ray would be hundreds down the drain. I just caught a chill cleaning a room at the Westin a few days ago; the AC was on too high. I just took a couple of cold pills. I’ll be fine after I get some sleep and sweat it out.”

”But you’ve been in bed all day. You can’t even keep water down,” her husband said, his face etched with worry.

”I’m fine... COUGH, COUGH... The hotel is fully booked for the Canton Fair tomorrow. My supervisor said they’re paying double time. I have to go...”

...

「At almost the same time. A community health center in Yuexiu District.」

The 24-year-old translator, Sun Songyu, sat in an infusion chair, his breathing labored.

”Doctor, what in the world is wrong with me?”

The community doctor listened to his chest again with a stethoscope before speaking.

”Young man, your fever won’t break and your heart rate is too fast. Don’t stay here for your IV. Call your family immediately and go straight to the hospital ER. This could be severe pneumonia...”

...

「Dusk. The airport expressway.」

The taxi driver, Old Lin, suddenly slammed on the brakes.

”COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!”

A dry coughing fit nearly made him lose his grip on the steering wheel.

The passenger in the back, a businessman fresh off a flight, was startled by the outburst. ”Sir, are you all right? You’re still driving with a cold that bad?”

”It’s an old problem... bronchitis...” Old Lin rolled down the window, letting the cold air rush in.

His head felt heavy and groggy, and his vision was starting to blur.

Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, he thought, ’I have to go home and lie down as soon as I finish this ride...’