By 2007 the PCR test is increasing in usage to diagnose disease and is instrumental in escalating the incidence of pseudo-epidemics. In 2006 the PCR test was relied upon for its speed and highly sensitive nature, and led epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists to use it’s positive result to diagnose what initially was suspected whooping cough epidemic. [1]
The 2006 coughing spree at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center caused officials to PCR test all staff, furloughing and quarantining them until their PCR test was returned. When results came in 142 people tested positive for Whooping Cough, and thousands were “treated” with antibiotics and vaccines. The hospital ICU was closed. Eight months later, by January 22, 2007, the hospital staff were informed it was a false alarm. [2]
“Not a single case of whooping cough was confirmed with the definitive test, growing the bacterium, Bordetella pertussis, in the laboratory.”
“It’s a problem; we know it’s a problem,” … “My guess is that what happened at Dartmouth is going to become more common.” said Dr. Perl
The tests’ “very sensitivity makes false positives likely, and when hundreds or thousands of people are [mass] tested, as occurred at Dartmouth, false positives can make it seem like there is an epidemic.”