Delhi Belly and Alphabet Shots..;)

I should be careful how I describe my meals. :P

I guess I did a relatively good job talking about 'chewing the fat' on my lamb chop last Thursday, that a friend of mine, SP, way over there in Delhi, India, being all 'enticed by the lamb chop' decided to go out and get himself a tandoori minced lamb kebab. Only, instead of burping from satisfaction, this poor chap ended up with the runs, otherwise known as the Delhi Belly. To the rest of the world, its similar to Montezuma's Revenge = not fun, and what made it worse was, it was a long weekend, and he was under 'outhouse' arrest!

SP, being relatively new to Delhi, was subjected to the city's notorious street vendor's 'rite of passage'; apparently all new comers, or travellers ( consider yourselves warned!) will experience it at least once, or twice, or annually, depending on how 'lucky' you are. Over 'kanji' or gruel, the man was beating himself up for tempting fate (still wondering if I should feel guilty for being so descriptive with my lamb chop). I mean, when we decide to get adventurous with street food, we kind of anticipate the risks (that's why I NEVER travel WITHOUT my charcoal tablets). So when I asked why this was any different, he responded that apparently tis the season . I was like , "there's a season for food poisoning"??

Oh, a little background on SP. He's a smartie...lecturer, researcher, scientific book editor (therefore not surprising, one of the reasons why my Lexulous rating on FB is in the outhouse too) and a certifiable mango lover..;)

So when SP goes, 'tis the season' , me, being me, 'antennas' go up and I go 'pray tell'..;)

Apparently, weeks before, when Delhi was experiencing super dry weather, he and his buddies feasted on street vendor gourmet and came away unscathed. However, last week, Delhi was already in the midst of the monsoon and when that happens the risks of food poisoning will go through the roof.

Two ways food can get contaminated. One, when sewage seeps into the municipal water supply, and two, when it is extremely humid (due to the monsoon), aerosols become transport vessels for bacteria and viruses. [Until that day, to me, aerosol is what comes out of a can and is normally used to kill roaches or cause a hole in the ozone layer. Now I know another version of aerosols.] By the way, aerosols are EVERYWHERE. So even if you are cooking in the cleanest, most hygienic kitchen in Delhi, yup, you guessed it, you could end up with food poisoning.

The monsoon in Delhi is unfortunately a double-edged sword. While it brings a lot of  much needed relief to farmers and chilly nights to the perspiring residents, it is also when the Reaper goes on double duty cause illnesses are rife. To stress his point, SP goes on to write that the Hepatitis E virus is endemic in Delhi and how every year it takes the lives of a few hundred souls in the city.

HEPATITIS E???  How many HEPs are there???  

I have protection against Hep A and Hep B. Believe me, that was one too many injections over a period of one year because I HATE injections and taking medicines. Now there's Hep E?

In my reply this is what I wrote (quote)

"Why don't you guys come up with a one jab for all the Heps and call it the Alphabet Shot?  You could market it along side alphabet  soup as healthy options. Suggest it at your next seminar and see what comes back. If they throw shoes at you, I hope they are  branded, relatively new and your size. However, if they like the name, I hope for an acknowledgement, you guys keep the patent, copyright etc etc etc.."

Though he thought Alphabet Shot was a catchy name, this was his response (quote)

"Its a nice thought on the Hep vaccine idea. Well, it is always the effort to combine multiple vaccines into a single  shot, but it always does not work that way. Because one, the difference in the organisms involved makes it difficult,  and two, the way our immune system responds to them determines the course of vaccination. As for Hep virus series, A, B, C, D, and E are well known, but there are also F, and G, which are not so well known yet. And all these  viruses are distinctly different from each other. Vaccines for A&B are available (girl's already protected.:)), E may hit the market soon. The vaccine for C remains a distant dream.... And if you can control B, then you also control  D, since without a person being infected with B, D can do you no harm. ... Is that enough science geek from me for  the small question of yours......"

Yes, SP, crystal clear - this layman/woman got it.  By the way, this is SP's area of study, so I am quoting an expert...:) So people, especially all you travellers and biology teachers reading this, take note, there are SO MANY HEPs OUT THERE.

If you haven't gotten your immunisation against HEP A and HEP B, do stand in line for it along with the FLU shot and whatever other shot, like typhoid and whatever else they think you should have before you set out on that great adventure. Those of you attempting street vendor fare wherever you are, do it with a handful of charcoal tablets, at least. To all you aspiring scientist, its clear, the Alphabet Shot (like the One Ring from LOTR) may just be the holy grail of Hep vaccination!! Get cracking on it people, it may just be the next Nobel Prize winning idea and a relief to people like me who HATE injections :D

*Note - Whenever I quote SP in my blog, the label will read 'Shy and Som(e) Sense'. [The man has NO idea what he's agreed to..;)]