NOVEL WEB Chapter 19
Episode 19: Dispatch Duty of the Plague Doctor (2)
“Preventing people from gathering… very modern thinking, but dysentery isn’t a disease you catch just by meeting others. Though overcrowding certainly doesn’t help.”
The Lord of Lapis stared at me, and all eyes in the room followed.
“Professor, what’s your take on this?”
Simple.
“As I mentioned earlier, infectious dysentery is usually caused by bacteria found in water. While the methods you suggested aren’t useless, they won’t change the situation significantly.”
“Do you have evidence for that?”
Evidence…
I could try cultivating cholera bacteria from well water or patient fluids, but it would likely fail. Assuming that’s impossible…
I’ll use Snow’s method.
“Check the geographical distribution of households where patients have appeared. The epidemic is definitely spreading from contaminated wells.”
The Lord of Lapis glanced at his officials.
“Is that true?”
“We don’t know yet, but we’ll check.”
A few clerks stood up, and the room’s attention shifted back to me.
“Let’s assume that’s the evidence. What solution does Professor Asterix propose?”
“First, we need to identify which water sources are contaminated.”
I thought for a moment.
“There are several possible methods. We could improve well water quality using activated carbon, or install sand filters.”
“Please continue.”
“What can be done immediately?”
Immediately… I looked at the Lord of Lapis.
“How much alcohol do you have stored in the capital?”
***
This dates back to the Age of Exploration.
During long voyages, ships had to carry fresh water since seawater was undrinkable…
Large galleons often carried hundreds of people, requiring vast amounts of water. In the harsh conditions of sea travel, clean water frequently became contaminated.
The British Navy solved this problem simply – by adding rum to drinking water. Even 1-2% alcohol can inhibit most bacterial growth.
“So… you’re suggesting we pour alcohol into the wells?”
“Yes.”
“Will that really solve the problem?”
“Yes.”
The Lord of Lapis sighed deeply.
“The government could distribute safe water. Or we could produce and distribute low-alcohol beverages around 3%…”
“Are there other options? This sounds rather insane. What do others think?”
Hedwig hesitated before speaking.
“I’ve never heard of this method. I’ve also never heard that drinking cures diseases. While water being the cause is plausible, it goes against current academic consensus.”
“Are you opposing this, Hedwig?”
“Not exactly, but it’s new to me. It could potentially be true.”
The Lord of Lapis looked anxious, fidgeting with his black hair.
“Understood. We’ll consider it. Please explain the other methods besides alcohol.”
“Sand filtration.”
“Yes?”
“It’s simple. Water passes through fine sand, filtering out contaminants. With activated carbon, sand, and buckets, it’s easy to construct.”
“Can you explain how to make it?”
Exactly as I said.
“Wrap sand and activated carbon in clean cloths, place in a bucket, and punch a hole in the bottom.”
“That seems feasible.”
I nodded.
“But these are all preventive measures, right? Even if we trust everything Professor Asterix says, is there treatment for those already sick?”
I thought carefully. Distributing antibiotics to everyone might be an option, but it would likely be ineffective…
With so many patients, that approach wouldn’t work anyway. Cholera kills through dehydration.
I don’t have any revolutionary treatments either.
“The main cause of death from epidemic dysentery is dehydration in most cases. Securing clean, safe drinking water is most important.”
“Is that so?”
Hedwig nodded this time.
“Then let’s proceed as the professor suggests. We’ll observe patients at the relief station and do our best following your recommendations.”
I wanted to push further. More aggressive policy implementation could yield better results. Visible progress…
Cholera and similar diseases have incubation periods of about one or two days…
We’ll know if our measures are effective within the next day or two. Thinking about it now, maybe this can be persuasive…
“Lord of Lapis, may I speak?”
“Go ahead.”
“The incubation period for epidemic dysentery is typically around one day. If we attempt solutions today or tomorrow, we should see results within one or two days.”
“Two days, huh?”
The Lord of Lapis looked at Hedwig again.
“Is that accurate?”
“The professor would know better.”
Another sigh.
“Alright. By tomorrow, let’s try everything Professor Asterix suggests. There’s no other plan anyway.”
“We’ll do our utmost.”
There are about twenty wells around Lapis Castle. We don’t know how many are contaminated…
The most urgent task is cleaning the wells, but that takes more than a day or two. We should do what we can for now.
Lapis assigned us a few soldiers. We traveled through the city by carriage…
“Our goal is to pour vodka into all twenty city wells, clean the surrounding areas, and disinfect the well ropes and buckets.”
“Yes sir!”
Our available supplies were similar…
We had twenty barrels of pure vodka and twenty barrels of various liquors prepared for us. It was unfortunate to mix some good alcohol for disinfectant, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
“Will this alcohol be enough?”
“Probably.”
I estimate each barrel holds around 60 liters, capable of purifying approximately 2000 liters of water.
More importantly, ethanol is lighter than water…
Without mixing, the pure vodka will likely float on top. Ironically, the alcohol concentration might be too high.
We’ll find out soon enough.
We quickly arrived at the first well. As expected, quite a crowd had gathered.
“Judging by the crowd, there must be many patients nearby…”
“Likely.”
Let’s get to work.
Our objective was straightforward.
“Everyone, please step back! We’re here to clean the well!”
People quickly moved away.
Indeed, plague doctors’ outfits are quite intimidating. We wiped the well buckets and ropes with alcohol-soaked cloths.
Now comes the moment of truth.
We poured an entire barrel of pure vodka into the well. Splashes mixed with the sound of alcohol, and the air filled with its scent.
“Are we done?”
Istina drew a bucket of water from the well. It looked like regular water…
“Should we taste it?”
“Are you crazy? Just smell it.”
“Hmm… I detect some alcohol odor.”
Good…
***
Twenty wells total.
We finished our tasks and returned to the ward. Quite a bit of vodka had been secured here as well. We couldn’t completely rule out infection possibilities within the ward, or rather the relief station.
Especially, we must protect frontline medical staff who are most exposed to pathogens. This amount should suffice.
“All reachable surfaces inside the ward should be disinfected with vodka. There’s a possibility of bacteria spreading within the ward. Water given to patients should contain alcohol as well.”
“Ugh…”
Clean water was overwhelmingly scarce. Hedwig nodded.
“That makes sense. Let’s do it.”
Few things are as unfair as illness. Many diseases are closely related to the sociocultural environments of patients or potential patients.
Cholera is the quintessential example. Where are contaminated wells usually found? In poor neighborhoods.
Which areas have the highest population density? Obviously, poor neighborhoods. Realistically speaking, these are also environments with the lowest levels of patient awareness and hygiene.
In fiction, cholera outbreaks often end with “just boil the water”… but reality is different.
We can’t afford to underestimate this disease.
“Istina, have any patients died?”
“None on our side. There are some in other wards, though… The problem is, the number of patients keeps increasing. The disease seems to still be spreading.”
“Got it. Good job.”
“I’m exhausted.”
Today has been incredibly busy…
After monitoring the wards and cleaning wells, we returned. Judging by the number of patients and their conditions, I doubt we’ll get any sleep tonight.
“Here, it’s full of dying people, Istina. But it’s still better than lying on the street, right?”