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Tales of Kieran: The occupational physician's odyssey

Tales of Kieran: The occupational physician's odyssey OUTSIDE IN Tales of Kieran: The occupational physician’s odyssey out of my skin as the room was suddenly filled by horrible 3. The Birdman of Linbridge (first high-pitched shrieking noises. published in The Lancet) ‘Impressive isn’t it? That’s a PAL Sound Emitter; makes It’s absolutely ages since I last saw Kieran so when I the pigeons think there’s a hawk about, like the cardboard happened to be at Linbridge University the other week cutouts. Soon have the blighters eradicated’ Kieran I called into the Occupational Health Department. I shouted gleefully waving the gun around as if he had just opened his office door to be blinded by a very bright light shot a lion. My shattered nervous system could stand no and as my pupils adjusted I found myself staring down more so I made my excuses and left Kieran to his plans the barrel of a gun. The light suddenly went out, my for mass avicide. retinas recovered and Kieran appeared at the other end. A couple of weeks later I found myself at the University ‘What on earth . . .’ again and was pleased to note encouraging signs of per- ‘Bird shit’ said Kieran calmly, oblivious to the fact that sistent birdlife. More importantly the peace of campus my myocardium was still contemplating fibrillation. was not punctuated by the sounds of a searchlight-guided ‘Droppings, guano . . .’ he continued as I came to the elephant gun or the high-pitched shrieking of recorded conclusion that making a run for it was obviously the best birds of prey. Nonetheless I decided to check with Jeanne option as Kieran had finally gone really mad. ‘Psittacosis’ first before entering Kieran’s office in case he was trying he said finally which for some reason seemed to make out a ground-to-air missile or some other weapon of everything alright. I returned to sinus rhythm although pigeon destruction. still not sure what was happening. Jeanne solemly advised against it. ‘He’s as sick as a ‘We’ve had an outbreak of psittacosis’ explained Kieran parrot’ she said with a very straight face. ‘A very sad ‘well, a case at least. One of the University maintenance example of mouth-to-beak resuscitation.’ engineers has had quite a nasty illness two weeks after ‘Mouth-to-beak resuscitation?’ I said incredulously. clearing up pigeon droppings in one of the boiler houses. ‘Kieran’s “case” of psittacosis got wind of his plans to We did a COSHH assessment on the stuff and managed rid the University of all bird life. So he admitted to Kieran to grow Chlamydia. A survey of the other maintenance that he was an exotic bird importer in his spare time. His men has shown a lot of unexplained upper respiratory last bird arrived in this country moribund and the birds tract symptoms. So in accordance with EC Directive are so expensive that he tried to resuscitate it.’ 91/784 we are going to try and eradicate the problem.’ As I left I noticed workmen in Kieran’s office replacing ‘What, kill all the pigeons?’ I exclaimed as my attention a pane of glass and on the floor what looked suspiciously was caught by a cardboard cutout hawk in the window. like the cardboard cut-out of a hawk that had been shot ‘Yes, of course. You use the gun with the light at night several times. As I’m always telling the medical students, whilst they are all sleeping. But listen to this!’ never underestimate the importance of taking a proper Kieran fiddled with a black box on his desk and I leapt history! J. A. Hunter Occup. Med. Vol. 52 No. 4, p. 231, 2002 Reprinted with kind permission from The Lancet, 30 January 1993, p. 301. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Occupational Medicine Oxford University Press

Tales of Kieran: The occupational physician's odyssey

Hunter, J. A.
Occupational Medicine , Volume 52 (4) – Jun 1, 2002
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
Copyright Society of Occupational Medicine 2002
ISSN
0962-7480
eISSN
1471-8405
DOI
10.1093/occmed/52.4.231
Publisher site
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Abstract

OUTSIDE IN Tales of Kieran: The occupational physician’s odyssey out of my skin as the room was suddenly filled by horrible 3. The Birdman of Linbridge (first high-pitched shrieking noises. published in The Lancet) ‘Impressive isn’t it? That’s a PAL Sound Emitter; makes It’s absolutely ages since I last saw Kieran so when I the pigeons think there’s a hawk about, like the cardboard happened to be at Linbridge University the other week cutouts. Soon have the blighters eradicated’ Kieran I called into the Occupational Health Department. I shouted gleefully waving the gun around as if he had just opened his office door to be blinded by a very bright light shot a lion. My shattered nervous system could stand no and as my pupils adjusted I found myself staring down more so I made my excuses and left Kieran to his plans the barrel of a gun. The light suddenly went out, my for mass avicide. retinas recovered and Kieran appeared at the other end. A couple of weeks later I found myself at the University ‘What on earth . . .’ again and was pleased to note encouraging signs of per- ‘Bird shit’ said Kieran calmly, oblivious to the fact that sistent birdlife. More importantly the peace of campus my myocardium was still contemplating fibrillation. was not punctuated by the sounds of a searchlight-guided ‘Droppings, guano . . .’ he continued as I came to the elephant gun or the high-pitched shrieking of recorded conclusion that making a run for it was obviously the best birds of prey. Nonetheless I decided to check with Jeanne option as Kieran had finally gone really mad. ‘Psittacosis’ first before entering Kieran’s office in case he was trying he said finally which for some reason seemed to make out a ground-to-air missile or some other weapon of everything alright. I returned to sinus rhythm although pigeon destruction. still not sure what was happening. Jeanne solemly advised against it. ‘He’s as sick as a ‘We’ve had an outbreak of psittacosis’ explained Kieran parrot’ she said with a very straight face. ‘A very sad ‘well, a case at least. One of the University maintenance example of mouth-to-beak resuscitation.’ engineers has had quite a nasty illness two weeks after ‘Mouth-to-beak resuscitation?’ I said incredulously. clearing up pigeon droppings in one of the boiler houses. ‘Kieran’s “case” of psittacosis got wind of his plans to We did a COSHH assessment on the stuff and managed rid the University of all bird life. So he admitted to Kieran to grow Chlamydia. A survey of the other maintenance that he was an exotic bird importer in his spare time. His men has shown a lot of unexplained upper respiratory last bird arrived in this country moribund and the birds tract symptoms. So in accordance with EC Directive are so expensive that he tried to resuscitate it.’ 91/784 we are going to try and eradicate the problem.’ As I left I noticed workmen in Kieran’s office replacing ‘What, kill all the pigeons?’ I exclaimed as my attention a pane of glass and on the floor what looked suspiciously was caught by a cardboard cutout hawk in the window. like the cardboard cut-out of a hawk that had been shot ‘Yes, of course. You use the gun with the light at night several times. As I’m always telling the medical students, whilst they are all sleeping. But listen to this!’ never underestimate the importance of taking a proper Kieran fiddled with a black box on his desk and I leapt history! J. A. Hunter Occup. Med. Vol. 52 No. 4, p. 231, 2002 Reprinted with kind permission from The Lancet, 30 January 1993, p. 301.

Journal

Occupational Medicine – Oxford University Press

Published: Jun 1, 2002

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