The Biomedical Scientist walked hesitantly into the duty Microbiologists office.
 
“We have a mould growing in a blood culture” they said.
 
“You mean a yeast?” asked the Microbiologist.
 
“Nope, definitely a mould” replied the BMS.
 
“A contaminant maybe?” asked the Microbiologist again, now starting to hope this was the case.
 
“Nope, definitely not a contaminant” replied the BMS.
 
“Please tell me this was handled in Cat 3?” asked the Microbiologist again, starting to sound worried and thinking he should maybe put the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) telephone number into his phone!
 
“Nope, not in Cat 3” replied the BMS looking crest fallen, “but it should have been… I think it’s Talaromyces marneffei”
 
The Microbiologist just stared at them lost for words… why did it always happen when he was on duty?!
 
What is Talaromyces marneffei?
T. marneffei is a dimorphic fungus; it has two types of growth depending on the temperature (a bit like cheese! Cheese is a solid block when in the fridge but when sliced and put on toast under a grill it’s all gooey!!!) It used to be called Penicillium marneffei, but like many other microorganisms it has undergone a recent name change just to keep us on our toes.

On his way to review a ward patient the Microbiologist was stopped by one of the Consultant Physicians and asked about a different patient. These “corridor consultations” are fairly frequent in medicine and often lead to significant decisions about patient care, it’s important to document them though; remember, “if it isn’t written down then you didn’t do it”.
 
“I have a patient who I have been seeing in clinic who I think might have tuberculosis, but the sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage cultures are negative. Is there anything else that can present in the same way that I might be missing?” the Physician asked.
 
“Why do you think they have TB?” asked the Microbiologist, thinking is this related to those pesky Tabby Cats!?

The Microbiologist was slowly meandering through the daily authorisation, trying to stay awake and not authorise something important without seeing it first… honestly we do really pay attention but it can be a little dull authorising out more than a hundred urine results a day!
 
Suddenly something caught their eye. A wound swab was growing Candida auris. The Microbiologist sat up straight in his chair (I am notorious for slouching at the duty desk!) and picked up the phone to find out more.

It was a hot and dozy afternoon in the microbiology lab. The air-conditioning system was on the blink again and a nice large lunch of sausages, chips and beans had made the Microbiologist particularly sleepy. The telephone rang.

​​“My patient has plague!” screamed the excited junior doctor.