1.
WHY
I
LIKE
MEDICAL
MICROBIOLOGY?
Dr.T.V.Rao
MD
I
was
a
post
graduate
student
in
1980’s
switching
from
General
practice
to
join
a
MD
in
Microbiology,
it
was
a
difficult
task
to
adjust
to
laboratory
work,
it
were
good
days
at
Andhra
Medical
College,
Visakhapatnam
many
senior
teachers
were
involved
in
reporting
the
culture
reports,
un
like
today
the
work
culture
has
changed
so
much
with
the
privatization
of
Medical
colleges,
and
many
conflicts
among
the
teachers
in
public
run
institutes.
Many
seniors
teachers
are
just
part
of
the
system
in
diagnostic
work.
Soon
I
realised
Microbes
influence
all
living
things
and
contribute
to
all
manner
of
chemical
and
physical
processes.
Because
these
activities
are
so
diverse,
gg34aZ
specializing
in
many
different
fields
of
life
science,
environmental
science
as
we
process
the
many
environmental
specimen
in
the
safety
of
Operation
theatres.
My
understanding
made
me
to
realise,
Microbiology
arose,
and
continues
to
profit
from,
several
previously
independent
scientific
and
medical
disciplines,
including
bacteriology,
virology,
public
health
science,
clinical
microbiology,
immunology,
parasitology,
vaccinology,
and
a
host
of
other
areas
of
inquiry.
Today
many
matters
are
left
to
the
postgraduate
students
without
guidance
from
seniors,
My
guide
Dr
B
Raja
Rao,
a
very
committed
Microbiologist
told
me
to
read
the
diagnostic
microbiology
by
Bailey
and
Scot
and
you
will
be
ever
green
to
the
needs
of
the
patients,
he
was
kind
enough
to
allot
me
topic
on
Bacterial
isolation
of
Enteric
pathogens,
soon
I
realised
that
faecal
specimens
are
complex
with
all
known
pathogens
present
in
the
stools,
one
day
I
really
got
confused
with
the
isolates,
and
told
to
our
Madam
that
I
am
thinking
whether
I
adjust
to
the
basic
sciences,
she
told
me
coolly
that
the
art
of
Bacteriology
lies
in
identifying
the
pathogen
from
commensals
never
forget
the
MD
degree
worth
when
you
can
separate
pathogens,
and
identify
and
to
do
a
Anti
bio
gram
it
is
all
expected
from
the
post
graduates,
and
it
was
a
great
lesson
for
me
and
started
doing
many
other
specimens
along
with
technicians,
the
almighty
favours
the
dedicated
minds
and
had
an
opportunity
to
do
my
part
of
thesis
work
at
NICED
–
ICMR
Calcutta,
it
was
all
amazing
experience
that
I
learnt,
we
all
think
as
Doctors
with
MBBS
in
our
laboratories
and
realise
that
I
should
shed
I
am
a
treating
Physician
and
changed
my
mind
I
am
a
investigating
scientist
I
could
spend
much
time
in
learning
many
techniques
which
I
would
not
have
learnt
from
many
MD’s
in
Medical
colleges,
as
research
organizations
dedicate
for
the
quality
work
and
few
short
cuts,
Most
often
if
you
work
with
someone
who
is
fantastic
at
it,
you
will
be
too.
once
again
back
to
my
parent
teaching
institute
my
association
with
my
class
mate
Late
Dr
Meera
who
was
most
dedicated
person
to
the
work,
made
me
to
learn
many
things
with
her
coordination,
many
times
we
were
competing
on
academic
matters.
Soon
I
realised
more
than
any
other
biological
science,
microbiology
has
the
potential
to
be
thoroughly
engrossing,
challenging,
and
rewarding.
It
is
inherently
very
cool.
And
really,
you
must
be
clever
to
get
anything
out
of
it.
I
suppose
that's
what
I
really
appreciate
most;
that
the
smarter
you
get,
the
more
you
will
get
to
know.
Be
prepared
to
have
very
few
books
but
choose
the
best
only
from
many
great
International
authors
most
of
the
Indian
books
can
help
just
undergraduate
teaching
and
not
more
than
it,
and
a
whole
a
lot
of
articles
even
from
the
Internet,
today
we
are
lucky
so
much
occasion
of
knowledge
available
with
the
click
of
a
mouse
on
Internet,
read
few
hours
on
a
rare
microbes
your
will
good
at
many
matters
in
recent
advances,
You
are
at
the
boundaries
of
science,
be
prepared
to
have
to
work
really
hard
in
the
beginning
and
then
not
so
hard
as
the
years
goes
on.
Again,
the
more
you
know,
the
easier
it
will
be
to
know
more.
It's
kind
of
cool
in
that
way.
I
find
today
many
are
turning
towards
the
Internet
for
many
things
as
teachers
with
competency
are
reducing
however
there
is
no
greater
book
than
a
competent
teacher,
I
have
seen
many
teachers

2. with
lack
of
hands
on
experience
are
becoming
preachers
of
microbiology
rather
than
practitioners
of
Diagnostic
Microbiology.
In
few
decades
in
Microbiology
I
realised
microorganisms
are
everywhere
and
it
feels
very
good
to
learn
about
them.
Food,
medicines
and
even
computers
are
making
use
of
them.
Just
try
and
look
for
things
around
you
which
are
related
to
microorganisms
and
I
am
sure
you
will
find
in
numerous
things.
After
30
years
of
my
practise
in
Diagnostic
microbiology
matters
have
changed
so
much
the
Microbes
are
no
more
innocent
and
ignorant
as
in
the
past
they
are
well
versed
how
to
fight
back
the
human
achievements,
they
too
are
good
in
Molecular
biology
as
we
progress
with
RT-­‐probe
assays,
line
probe
assays.
I
do
worry
that
the
old
problem
may
be
resurfacing
in
a
new
guise.
The
allure
of
the
fascinating
mechanisms
of
pathogenesis
that
have
been
uncovered
is
so
strong
that
it
may
tempt
one
to
teach
as
many
of
them
as
possible.
This
would
be
an
incorrect
idea,
in
my
opinion,
because
it
would
merely
replace
a
parade
of
facts
with
a
parade
of
mechanisms.
Instead,
it
seems
more
reasonable
to
deal
with
the
grand
unifying
themes,
such
as
the
appropriation
of
host
functions
by
pathogens,
communication
between
infectious
agents
and
hosts,
or
the
role
of
the
micro
biome.
Again,
they
would
serve
to
construct
an
intellectual
scaffold
of
their
own,
Our
post
graduate
students
should
realise,
how
much
more
satisfying
to
have
a
framework
for
learning
a
lot
of
material
rather
than
just
having
to
memorize
a
bunch
of
isolated
facts!
.
Many
join
today
as
a
restful
profession
and
arm
chair
Job.
The
work
of
all
Microbiologists
is
constantly
evolving
as
relatively
as
new,
and
emerging
infections
are
surfacing
such
as
campylobacter,
helicobacter
and
legionella
are
recognised,
while
research
and
medical
development
always
push
diagnosis
techniques
forward.
Often
‘older’
diseases
such
as
tuberculosis
are
occurring
with
new
forms
as
MDR
tuberculosis
,
and
less
commonly
cholera
and
diphtheria
are
still
being
diagnosed
in
our
laboratories,
Try
to
teach
some
group
of
people
who
are
practising
the
methods
on
prevention
in
Hospital
infections,
soon
we
are
cared
by
many
clinical
practitioners
and
never
feel
let
down
you
are
a
Non
clinical
professional
,
and
the
future
belongs
to
clinical
Microbiologists
,
think
the
ways
to
survive
in
spite
of
many
limitation
in
the
system
we
work
?
I
dedicate
this
article
to
my
Leaned
teachers,
Professor
B
Raja
Rao,
Late
Dr
Saroja
Venugopal.
Late
CSV
Subramnayam,
Dr
Joga
Lakshmi
and
Late
DrMeera
without
whose
training
or
association
I
could
have
been
one
among
many,
and
perished
in
the
sea
of
ignorance.
Dr.T.V.Rao
MD
Professor
of
Microbiology
Freelance
writer