Back to Work? - Did We Ever Stop?

I received an email this afternoon from our Director, Civilian Human Resources, USUHS:

This is to advise you that ALL Health Affairs (to include all USUHS Federal civilian employees) and Defense Health Agency Federal Civilian employees are directed to return to work Monday, 7 October 2013 

So we are back to work! I celebrated the good news by inspecting the new biological safety level-3 (BSL-3) bubble that was installed in the annex to the UF lab here. The bubble is a portable clear plastic containment chamber that fits inside a room (the annex in this case). High efficiency filter units remove all particulate matter, including bacterial and viral pathogens, from the air that passes from inside the bubble and exhausts to the outside. The BSL-3 bubble will allow UF scientists and others to work with some very dangerous bacteria like the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, particularly the strains that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. Meer and I discussed some safety modifications that need to be made such as keypad security on the door communicating with the BSL-2 lab and removing a post close to the emergency exit from the annex. We will get together with Edsel on that later.

Meer and the BSL-3 bubble

Equipment and material door for BSL-3 bubble

Biosafety hood in BSL-3 bubble

Then we discussed how to configure the autoclave room (also a new addition to the building). The autoclave has arrived but cannot be installed until a utility pole to carry power into the room is put up outside. Then there is the plumbing and hook-ups, but we should be able to do that. The addition of the autoclave will be a huge improvement to the efficiency of the lab both in terms of sterilizing material and preparing media but also in decontaminating biohazard waste. Meer also had the great idea of moving the glass-washing sink out of the main BSL-2 lab into the autoclave room. That will allow us to add additional benchtop space to do work in the BSL-2 lab.

Autoclave waiting to be installed

While I was writing this blog, Edsel came into the lab to show some visitors around. They were a couple who just arrived to work in the dental clinic for a week. Meer had just finished telling me that Edsel often brought guests to tour the lab. It is like the centerpiece to show off to everybody. I know that Edsel and the Christianville family are all very proud of the work that Meer and his colleagues are doing here. So I gave the visitors the tour this time.  I think I did a pretty good job. Edsel suggested that I place a cup by the door to collect tips. Now if I can only find someone to donate $30,000 to buy a real-time PCR machine for the lab. Or maybe someone can come up with the modest $500 per month salary to pay a Haitian technician to work in the lab for a year or two. Money is tight everywhere. We will do the best with what we can and try to leverage our contacts to get material and equipment donated. I guess it is time for me to start writing grants again.

Meer made dinner tonight: chicken with rice and fried cauliflower. He made the chicken with a nice mix of spices like tumeric, coriander, ginger and I’m not sure what else. Spicy, but not too spicy and delicious! The chicken came from our backyard. Well, actually from the breeder unit down the hill from our house. We were not the only ones who were having chicken tonight.

One of our friends bringing home tonight's dinner

There are lots of heat lightning flashes in the sky again tonight. On Friday night, those flashes turned into a torrential downpour that lasted at least 45 minutes. I should get back to the house before the rains come again. Big day tomorrow. Going out to visit some of the clinics to see how the sampling is being done.