Chapter 661 — Guan Xuewen's Opponent: The Matter Had Wide Impact, and After the Hospital Reported It, the Health Authorities Took It Very Seriously and Immediately Assembled Renowned Physicians to Rush to the Second People's Hospital for Consultation!
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Guan Xuewen was one of the leaders of this expert panel. Under normal circumstances Guan Xuewen did not see patients, but this time the matter was grave and the condition unknown, and with his high prestige and rich experience, he naturally had to take part!
Soon the entire expert panel moved into the emergency room to analyze and study the condition.
"In my view, this is an unknown new virus!" said Zhang Weikang, another leader of the panel and president of the city's medical association. "We must report it at once to the international health organization and have foreign experts sent here to conduct research!"
"Doctor Zhang, is it not a bit premature to conclude now that it is an unknown virus?" Guan Xuewen held a different opinion. "According to the people from the school, almost all the students fell ill at nearly the same time, yet those who fell ill account for only a very small proportion of the whole school. If this were an acute infectious disease caused by an unknown virus, would the timing not be far too coincidental? Could the virus have made an agreement to break out and infect all together?"
Guan Xuewen's words were sharp, yet they struck straight at the crux of the matter, which was that this incident was not an unknown viral infection! His final remark, however, was rather amusing, and it drew laughter from the assembled experts...
Zhang Weikang's expression changed at once. He and Guan Xuewen had never been on good terms. Although he was president of the Songshan Medical Association, everyone in Songshan's medical circles knew that when it came to the most brilliant skill, none but Guan Xuewen deserved the crown!
"Then in Doctor Guan's eminent opinion, what is going on here?" Zhang Weikang sneered, deliberately addressing Guan Xuewen as "Doctor Guan." It might have seemed harmless, since Guan Xuewen's company was indeed called Doctor Guan Pharmaceuticals, but spoken at this moment, it carried a heavy sting of mockery.
Although Guan Xuewen heard the sarcasm in Zhang Weikang's tone, he paid it no mind! He was a man devoted to scholarship and cared little for empty fame, which was why he had refused official posts in various associations in the past. Otherwise the presidency of the medical association would never have fallen to Zhang Weikang.
"Judging by my experience, I believe poisoning is the likelier possibility!" Guan Xuewen said. "The students fell ill not long after finishing lunch at noon, at very close intervals, and their present symptoms also resemble those seen after poisoning..."
"Ha!" Zhang Weikang sneered and cut Guan Xuewen off. "Doctor Guan's analysis is so incisive, but what a pity! Divine doctor though you are, you should have looked at the case files before airing your views! Otherwise you waste not only our time but the patients' precious rescue time! The records state clearly that no toxic components were found in the food in their stomachs. May I ask how they were poisoned by food?"
"That is hardly strange. What if the toxic substance has already been absorbed by the body?" Guan Xuewen showed not the slightest irritation. Scholarship required a spirit of doubt, and he was glad to see someone raise questions.
"Absorbed? You mean the patients absorbed only the poisonous matter and left the harmless food behind in their stomachs?" Zhang Weikang burst into laughter. "By your account, these people's stomachs are truly powerful! They can tell the poisonous from the harmless? They pick out the poison to absorb on purpose?"
Zhang Weikang's words drew some laughter as well, though most of the experts present sided with neither man. This was a clash of titans, and they would not rashly take part.
"In some ancient medical texts, I have seen similar records!" Guan Xuewen continued unperturbed to explain. "There are poisons compounded from Chinese herbs and insect venoms that can be swiftly absorbed by the human body!"