Diqin Designer

Chapter 210: On Disease and Epidemic (2.0)

Li Nian said: "Yes, the acne virus will survive in the patient's body. When a person with acne breathes, coughs, or sneezes, the acne virus will be released to the outside world. If someone happens to inhale it into the body, they will also get acne."

"If one person spreads this to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand, very soon many people will be infected with smallpox."

"In addition to respiratory transmission, smallpox can also be spread through contact with patients, and even through contact with patients' clothing, daily utensils, etc."

The doctors gasped. This smallpox plague was indeed more terrible than cholera. If possible, they must not allow this plague to spread.

A doctor immediately asked: "Sir, since the epidemic is still in the Western Regions and has not yet entered the Central Plains, is there any way to prevent it from entering?"

Li Nian shook his head and said, "It's hard to do!"

Even in modern times, it is difficult to completely prevent the entry of things like viruses and bacteria, let alone in the Qin era.

Moreover, according to the path that Li Nian designed for Daqin, it would be even more difficult for Daqin to expand outward.

Daqin would inevitably have to face certain diseases and plagues from other regions; it would be impossible to escape.

The doctors knew that their idea was difficult to achieve, but they were still a little disappointed when they heard Li Nian's answer.

If the smallpox plague spreads to Middle-earth, it will cause great suffering to all living beings. Now I just hope that this person can have a good way to deal with smallpox.

Li Nian said: "Pimples are highly contagious and have a high mortality rate. There is no very suitable prescription to treat them. But if you want to prevent them and stop their spread after they are discovered, there are ways!"

The doctors listened carefully.

"'Prevention' means taking certain measures before getting pox, so that people won't get pox or if they do get pox, the harm will be reduced."

"Pox has a property that if a person survives it, he or she will generally not get it again."

"According to this property, if people can first get a mild pox, it will be difficult for them to get it again in the future. Even if they do get it, the symptoms will be milder and they will not lose their lives."

It is said that Kangxi was firmly designated as the heir by Shunzhi because he survived smallpox as a child.

After hearing what Li Nian said, the doctors looked at each other. They knew some ways to prevent illness, but none of them knew what this person said. This was a completely new way.

Li Nian noticed the doctors' actions and solemnly reminded them, "Everyone, not all diseases can be prevented with this method. Smallpox is a special case."

What if these doctors go back and come up with a set of advice for all diseases, saying that no matter what the disease is, people should first get a mild one to prevent it so that they won't get a serious one in the future? That would lead people down the wrong path.

Li Nian saw that after he finished speaking, some doctors looked a little unnatural, and it was obvious that they really had this idea.

Li Nian continued: "Not only humans can get pox, but some animals can get pox too, such as cows. However, the pox in cows is not as serious as in humans, and it almost never kills cows."

"Therefore, we can take smallpox pus from cows with smallpox and use it to vaccinate humans. To weaken the toxicity of the smallpox virus, we can first vaccinate calves with smallpox pus and then take smallpox pus from the calves."

"If pox is found in a certain place, in order to prevent the spread of pox, the place must be sealed off, people are allowed to enter but not leave, and the people inside must be isolated and not allowed to gather together."

"Although the pox virus can be transmitted through the respiratory tract, it has a limited survival time in the outside world after leaving the human body. As long as people in the area where the pox occurs do not go out, the pox can be controlled in the area. If someone wants to enter, they can wear a mask and gloves to prevent the spread of the pox virus." "As mentioned before, boiling water can kill most tiny things. This can also be used here. Wash the clothes and things used by the patient with boiling water to kill the pox virus."

Li Nian talked about some epidemic prevention knowledge summarized by later generations. The doctors listened very carefully, but they just hoped that they would not have to use it.

"These preventive measures can be used not only for smallpox, but also for plagues such as cholera."

"Let's talk about fungi. Not all fungi are small. Some are not only not small, but also very large. The reason why they are classified as microorganisms is because most of them are small."

"Zhuangzi said, 'Morning fungi do not know the new moon and full moon', and Liezi said, 'On the rotten soil, there are fungi and mushrooms'. The 'fungi' and 'mushrooms' we eat are all fungi."

Everyone was surprised to hear this, as they never thought these things could be considered fungi.

"Diseases caused by fungi in the human body are common on the hands, feet and skin, such as 'ringworm' on the body."

It turns out that the thing was caused by fungi, but this fungus doesn't seem to be as powerful as bacteria and viruses.

"Fungi usually don't cause plagues among us, but some of the diseases they cause should not be underestimated. And although fungi don't cause plagues to humans, they can sometimes have serious effects on birds, animals, fish, shrimp, flowers and plants, such as reducing the yield of certain crops or causing them to become extinct."

None of these tiny things should be underestimated. Causing crop yields to decrease or even extinction is just as likely as causing a plague among humans.

Li Nian gave the doctors some understanding of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. After he finished speaking, a doctor asked, "Sir, is malaria also caused by these three?"

Li Nian said: "No, although malaria is also caused by tiny things, it is not bacteria, viruses, or fungi, but a kind of worm, which is called 'Plasmodium'."

"People get malaria, usually from the bite of a mosquito that carries the malarial parasite."

"Once you have malaria, the parasite will live in your body. If you then transfuse blood from someone with malaria, you may be infected. If a woman gets malaria while pregnant, it can also be passed on to her fetus."

At this point, Li Nian added: "Not only malaria, many diseases can be transmitted through blood and mother-to-child transmission."

The doctors nodded. In this era, malaria was not uncommon and was a disease that caused the most headaches for many doctors.

Because malaria has no cure, if you get malignant malaria, you are almost certain to die.

But today is different, this magical young man may know how to cure malaria.

A doctor was about to ask Li Nian if there was a way to cure malaria, when he heard Li Nian say, "Malaria can be cured. As far as I know, Artemisia annua, also known as Artemisia odoratum, Artemisia argyi, and Artemisia argyi can cure malaria. You can give it a try when you go back!"

"In a foreign land thousands of miles away from Daqin, there is a tree called 'Cinchona Tree', which is also effective in treating malaria."

The chicken tree thousands of miles away could not be obtained in a short time, but they knew about Artemisia annua. Some doctors were eager to go back and try to use Artemisia annua to treat malaria.

In all the years they have been practicing medicine, almost everyone has seen people die from malaria. If this medicine is really effective, it will be a blessing for all people in the world and countless lives could be saved.

If it is really effective, it is also the kindness of this young master, and the whole world should be grateful for it!

(End of this chapter)