Foundations Reading 5A

Chap 9

Reading 5A THE DISEASE DETECTIVE Six children were in the hospital. They were very sick, but the doctors didn't know what to do. They called Dr. Richard Besser, an expert on strange illnesses. Finding a Cause First, Dr. Besser needed to find the cause of the illness. He looked for germs in the children's bodies. In every child, Dr. Besser found the same type of the bacteria E. coli. He then looked at the bacteria's DNA. It showed him that this type of E. coli was dangerous. Dr. Besser knew E. coli could move from animals to humans. Had the children touched animals that carried the bacteria? Besser found other E. coli cases in the area where the children lived. But it wasn't enough. Besser then made a list of what the sick children had eaten. They had all eaten cheese, apple juice, and fish. He then made a list of what healthy children in the area had eaten. They had eaten the cheese and fish, but not the apple juice. Case Closed Besser went to where the apple juice was made. He saw animals around the apple trees. He also saw the workers using dirty apples that had fallen on the ground. More importantly, he saw that the apples were not washed before the juice was made, and that the juice was not heated. Doing these things would kill the bacteria. Besser then knew it was the apple juice that made the children sick. Besser's E. coli case had a happy ending. The children got better. And what Besser learned that day now helps keep others safe.

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