Anthrax doesn't intimidate students in SCC's Medical Laboratory Technology Program

SYLVA - When news of the recent Anthrax infections first broke, the politicians and doctors who told television and newspaper reporters about the diagnosis weren't the ones who officially and initially identified the disease.

Behind the scenes, in laboratories across the nation, Medical Laboratory Technicians identify dangerous diseases like anthrax and others like it every day. These technicians are the nation's first line of defense against the horror of infectious diseases.

"The thing that sets this country apart from the Third World is that we have these people who can identify infectious diseases and communicate correct information to doctors resulting in quality, timely treatment," said Dale Hall, an instructor at Southwestern Community College who has been in the field for 20 years. "That's what we have that they don't. It helps minimize the threat. Because we have the ability to identify, isolate and treat these diseases like anthrax, we're halfway home. If we had no clue how to do those things, it would be a lot more frightening."

Several future technicians are presently studying Special Clinical Microbiology under the guidance of Hall, who is showing them not only how to identify potentially devastating bacteria - but also how to determine the best course of antibiotic.

The particularly intense Microbiology course Hall is teaching this semester requires students to identify a new set of bacterial specimens every week. The students come to lab several hours each day and track each bacteria's behavior while also analyzing how it reacts to a variety of antibiotics.

"We have to be able to identify the bacteria," said Juanita Hyde, a Bryson City student who plans to graduate in May. "We figure out which antibiotic - and how much of it – to use, and we report back to the doctor."

Working with specimens like E. coli and others has helped students like Heidi Whitaker to overcome their fears of biological attacks like the ones that took place in New York, Florida and Nevada during the week of Oct. 8.

"It is scary if you encounter something like that," said Whitaker, a second-year student who lives in Haywood County. "But we know what to look for, and we have been trained to take the necessary precautions to avoid contracting it ourselves. It's not something that's common, and there are dangers in everything we do in this field."

Tonia Biddix of Jackson County agreed: "A lot of people I know are really, really afraid. But being here in this program, I'm not as scared. There's a lot of security in knowing how diseases like that are identified, and in knowing how to use universal precautions so that you don't take diseases like that home to your family."

First and foremost among those "universal precautions" is washing your hands regularly, according to Hall. In fact, that simple act is a clear example of the message Hall hopes the general public will take from learning about his class.

"Microbiology is very complicated stuff; we're not saying that everyone needs to know it and understand it completely," Hall said. "We're fortunate to have an educational system and people like Tonia, Heidi and Juanita who are interested and capable of learning how to do these things. Everyone doesn't need to know every little detail we cover in this class. It is good to be concerned and to be aware of things you can do - things like hand-washing - that can go a long way toward safety, even if you don't understand the ins and outs of microbiology."