Chapter 45: The Plague of Terminal Diseases

As mentioned last time, Zhang Zhongjing asked Liu Hou to let him organize a medical team to extinguish the epidemic, and Liu Hou said:

"Doctor don't be impatient, let me ask him a few questions first." Liu Hou turned to the pot-bellied man and said, "Do you often go to the river and stream to swim in the water?" ”

The pot-bellied man said: "This is natural, there are countless rivers and lakes here, we grew up here since childhood, the water is not bad, when the weather is hot, nature often plays with water." However, after I got sick, my body became weaker and weaker, and I haven't had water for a long time. ”

"Then do you have a snail in the river where you are draining, the snail is very small, the length is about the length of a fingernail, the width is only half a fingernail wide, and the tail is as slender as a nail." Liu Hou asked again.

"Yes, yes, there is this kind of snail in the small river in front of our village. This kind of snail is too small, there is no meat, so we generally do not catch this kind of snail to eat, we also have a kind of snail there, the size is bigger than the big toe, if the son likes to eat the snail, the villain can let the family catch a few catties and sacrifice to the son. ”

This big-bellied man was also interested, thinking that Liu Hou wanted to eat snails, so he took the initiative to send him a few catties of snails. It's a pity that he completely misunderstood Liu Hou's intentions.

"I know, you go downstairs first, your illness is not simple, I will discuss it with Dr. Zhang, and I will treat you later." Liu Houdao.

The pot-bellied man is very strange, this boy looks so young, does he also know medical skills? Listening to his tone, it seems that his medical skills are at the same level as Doctor Zhang, how is this possible?

However, he was suspicious, but he didn't dare to say much, he knew that it was already a great luck to have the opportunity to let Doctor Zhang see a doctor. If the mouth angers the nobles, it will be bad if you don't let Doctor Zhang treat him, since this son promised to treat himself later, he still waits honestly.

So, the big-bellied man Zhang Yongwang slowly went downstairs with his own soldiers. Liu Hou turned to Zhang Zhongjing and said, "Doctor Zhang, how sure are you about treating this Gu worm disease?" ”

When Zhang Zhongjing heard Liu Hou's question, his forehead sweated: "This, this, don't hide it from the prince, Gu worm disease is a terminal disease, and the old man is really not sure." However, human life is at stake, and it is thousands of human lives, and the old man is willing to try his best. Maybe a cure can be found. ”

"You should have tried many times when you were too punctual in Changsha." Liu Hou said in frustration.

Zhang Zhongjing was embarrassed at this time, and said: "Alas, it is true that there were several outbreaks of this kind of Gu worm disease in the villages near Changsha back then, and there were countless deaths, and the old man was incompetent, so it was indeed impossible to treat this disease, at most it made their symptoms improve a little, and it was really powerless to say that it was cured." But I can't bear to see these people die of illness in front of me. ”

Hearing Zhang Zhongjing's words, Liu Hou was completely disappointed, he originally hoped to find a way to treat parasitic diseases from herbal medicine like he did in Lingnan to treat malaria, but unfortunately, artemisinin that can fight malaria is available in later generations, but Chinese medicine that can treat schistosomiasis has not been invented in later generations. And how could he know how to synthesize Western medicine that can treat schistosomiasis.

"Alas, Doctor Zhang's mercy, okay, I will send a group of people from the military doctors to control the epidemic with you, and also allocate a batch of medicinal materials for you to use. But I have something to tell you first, and you must pay attention to what I say. ”

"Prince, please speak, the old man must obey." Zhang Zhongjing was overjoyed when he heard that Liu Houken supported him to extinguish the epidemic, and he planned that no matter what Liu Houken put forward, as long as he could do it, he would try his best to help him do it. Unexpectedly, Liu Hou didn't mention any conditions at all, but proposed them to build yì.

"Doctor Zhang, this palace won't tell you, this kind of Gu worm is called Schistosome, they are not Gu worms, it should be said that it is a plague worm, they are the plague god of the plague gods, this kind of worm ...... I've heard from my master. Liu Hou considered his rhetoric in his heart and said slowly.

When Zhang Zhongjing heard Liu Hou say this, he thought that there was hope for treatment, so he couldn't help but light up and listened attentively.

"One thing you just said is right, this is a terminal illness that cannot be cured, you Zhang Shen can't cure it, Hua Tuohua Shen can't cure it, even my master, Zuo Ci Zuo Xianweng, who has the name of a half-immortal, is helpless."

"Huh?" Hearing this, Zhang Zhongjing couldn't help but let out an exclamation, and the mood that was full of hope just now sank suddenly.

"But it's incurable, but it's preventable. So the first thing I want you to remember is, since there's no cure, don't put too much effort into researching a cure. It is better to allocate more manpower and more resources to prevention.

As long as the precautions are in place, more people can be prevented from being infected with this plague disease, so that the epidemic can naturally be extinguished over time. ”

"This, this..." Zhang Zhongjing was very entangled, he understood what the prince meant, the so-called time is long, the epidemic can naturally be extinguished, which means that when the sick people die now, the epidemic will naturally be extinguished. In the face of such natural disasters, human beings are so small, and the reality is so cruel.

Although the prince's words were good, how could he be willing to watch thousands of sick people die in front of him. Liu Hou seemed to know what he was thinking, and continued:

"Of course, I'm not asking you to give up treating those who are already sick, otherwise I wouldn't have to mix so many herbs for you. I mean, you have to make sure that other healthy people don't get infected, and on that basis, you can try to treat those people however you want. ”

Zhang Zhongjing arched his hand and said to Liu Hou expectantly: "Since Zuo Xian Weng knows the origin of this insect, does he really have no way to treat it?" The previous time in Lingnan, that kind of malaria was also a terminal disease, and he could think of a cure, but this time he ......"

"Not this time." Before he finished speaking, Liu Hou interrupted him and said, "There are many kinds of plague insects, the plague of malaria is very small, and Artemisia annua juice can kill it, but this time the schistosoma is very large, and Artemisia annua juice is ineffective."

After you control its spread, you can try it with the juice of various herbs, and you will have thousands of patients to test it, and of course you can try Artemisia annua, and then you will know whether what I say is true or false.

I also hope that you can find a medicine that can kill this plague insect, and I will mobilize the research team of Lingnan Graduate School Pharmaceutical Law to assist you in researching the treatment of schistosomiasis. But you must not delay the precautions. ”

Liu Hou couldn't deal with schistosomiasis, and later generations used Western medicine to treat this disease, and he had never heard of that kind of Chinese medicine that could kill schistosomiasis. However, if he hasn't heard of it, it doesn't mean that there is nothing, he still has a fluke mentality, hoping that Zhang Zhongjing, a miracle doctor whose reputation has been passed down through the ages, can surprise him.

In addition to providing materials and manpower conditions, the only thing he can do is to give them a clear research direction and tell them that this is a kind of bug, and the key to curing the disease is to kill this bug.

This will save them a lot of detours. If they still follow the old path of dialectical treatment and regulating the yin and yang of the human body, then another thousand years of time may not cure this disease.

But now that the goal is clear, it is different to concentrate on finding a way to kill the pathogen, they only need to use various drugs to test whether they can kill the target pathogen, and the scope of research is greatly narrowed, so maybe there will be miracles.

Lingnan's crude drug research team has experience in drug trials, and it would be nice to call them to help. In addition, Liu Hou also thought about the importance of the microscope, if there is a microscope, can find the eggs and worm body, you can do in vitro drug tests, which can undoubtedly greatly speed up the process of testing.

The research of microscope has not stopped, but unfortunately the telescope is made, and the microscope is not so easy.

Liu Hou went on the expedition, and all kinds of research talents or craftsmen were brought to the army, and there were also people from the Institute of Optics, whose main task was to produce telescopes, and they were also tackling key microscope research in their spare time.

"Sister Xing, you go to the people from the Institute of Optics to see if you can make a microscope as much as possible. Also, remember the craftsmen who helped you make periscopes last time, they are very experienced in making copper cylinders. I'll go back and draw a diagram for you, and you go to them to build the parts you need, and you can study it to see if you can build a microscope as much as possible. ”

Zhang Xingcai's last time to make a periscope was very successful, she has a solid knowledge of physics and chemistry, and she has learned the knowledge of mirror and lens imaging, and the key to the microscope is the adjustment of the optical path, so it is best for her to do it.

"Little Adou, the microscope you said is something that can magnify objects many times and see very small things?" Zhang Xingcai asked, obviously, she had heard Zuo Ci talk about this knowledge before.

"Exactly, with this thing, you can see this plague and even find its eggs, so it will be much easier to do drug tests. I hope you can build a microscope and help Dr. Zhang sift through drugs that can kill schistosomiasis. ”

"yes, I've got something to do again." Zhang Xingcai is very excited, as long as there are interesting things to do, she is very happy.

"Please also ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for advice on how to prevent this plague." Zhang Zhongjing humbly asked for advice. Although he is a generation of miracle doctors, compared to Zuo Ci, a "half-immortal", he often sighs to himself, Zuo Ci is not here now, so he has to ask the disciple of Zuo Ci in front of him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I digressed just now, yes, what I just said is the first point, prevention is the first, and the treatment can be put aside first. Now I will talk about the second point, how to prevent it. Doctor Zhang, you said that in the past, when you encountered a plague outbreak, how did you deal with the patient? ”

"Isolation, of course, is to gather the sick in one place, keep them under strict care, and keep them out of contact with healthy people. Now that he knows that this kind of worm disease can also be contagious, of course, the old man will isolate all the patients as soon as possible. Zhang Zhongjing stroked his beard and said.

"Yes, no matter what the plague, isolating the sick is the most important step. In addition to this, I would like to remind you that there is one thing that must be done well, and that is the management of manure. In places where patients are isolated, toilets must be set up, and all feces must be treated in septic tanks, and feces must not be allowed to flow into rivers and lakes. Liu Houdao.

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, please rest assured, in our Han territory, the application of this kind of toilet and septic tank has long been promoted. There are many students who have come out of the academy to educate the people in various places to build toilets and septic tanks. There is nothing difficult about this, many of my disciples know how to build septic tanks, and when the time comes, let them do this well. ”

Liu Hou also knows this, the effect of feces on the transmission of some diseases, he has long been popularized among ordinary students through Guò College, even if they are not medical students, many people understand these basic health knowledge. It's just that this is a basic measure to prevent parasitic diseases, and he has to emphasize it again.