episode_0204

Episode 204. Unidentified Pneumonia (2)

****

I headed straight for the central temple of Karnak with Hedwig. As usual, there was a refugee camp or something like that there.

An outdoor hospital bed in this weather. I wonder if I won’t freeze to death, even if I’m sick. Of course, there were torches burning everywhere…

Let’s focus.

There are patients that need to be seen first right now.

The officials we met earlier demanded that this patient be saved at all costs.

Amira.

Amira is said to be a healer working at the central temple of Karnak. She collapses and dies from exhaustion and infection while seeing a patient.

His consciousness seemed to be clouded.

Glasgow Coma Score: 11 or so?

I looked at the nurse standing in front of the hospital bed. She had a frightened expression and was wearing a mask covering her nose and mouth.

“This patient. He was a healer working at the temple, right? He contracted the plague while working here.”

The nurse nodded. She looked like a ninja because her mouth and nose were completely covered. Still, the worry in her eyes was clear.

“The patient’s vomited blood was turned over.”

“That kind of thing.”

It’s the most surefire way to get sick.

“Was the patient like this before too?”

“I wake him up every 30 minutes because I’m worried he might be dead, and he hasn’t eaten since yesterday.”

If a person does not eat, he will die.

A healthy person might be okay with starving for a few days, but if someone who is already dying starves in this way, they could die quickly.

I’ll have to get an IV line and connect you to a glucose IV drip. You’ll feel a little better once you regain your strength.

“You kept coughing?”

“Yes. You were complaining that you tasted blood every time you coughed, and then you fell asleep.”

Cough and phlegm. It may not be cultureable, but if it’s this bad, there’s probably a lot of bacteria in the phlegm. It’s worth a try.

“Did the patient cough or spit out phlegm?”

“I threw away a handkerchief earlier.”

Damn. Digging through hospital trash cans can be dangerous… … . Can’t help it.

****

This used to be one of the chapels of the Karnak Temple. Now, all the chairs have been removed and it is being used as a resting place and workshop.

Squeak. I moved a desk and placed a microscope, an alcohol lamp, and a few other supplies on it.

It’s tough because there are no graduate students. I just need to deal with this and find someone to help me.

A huge statue of a deity adorning the center of one wall of the chapel was looking down at me.

‘Hey, can you help me out?’

It felt like I was looking at something. The statue was positioned so that it looked down on the entire chapel.

I turned my gaze to the specimen.

If I wasn’t going to do a culture, there was no reason for the test to take so long. I fixed the sputum specimen on an alcohol lamp, stained it, and took it straight to the microscope. It was crude, but-

There are so many germs.

This time I didn’t bring a graduate student, but I was amazed by the purple fungus that appeared in the form of two rice cake-shaped pieces attached to each other.

Rice cake with sweet potato.

It is a famous bacterium.

Although vaccines against this bacteria are not widely available in modern times, it is still a common bacterial species found in foreigners, the elderly, and children.

Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a gram-positive bacterium that can be treated with penicillin, but it cannot treat lung damage or bleeding.

There is no easy solution, but it is hopeful that it is a treatable disease.

Amira can be treated with antibiotic injections and intravenous fluids. The patients who have piled up outside to the point of forming a tent city… … .

I guess I’ll have to look at the situation and think about it.

“Have you seen the patient?”

Hedwig came in.

She was also wearing a plague doctor’s mask and coat. She wiped her sleeve with an alcohol-soaked handkerchief. I nodded.

“Would you like to come and see?”

Hedwig walked up to the microscope and put her eye to the eyepiece, looking a bit comical because of the mask that doubled as a gas mask.

Like a crow trying to use a camera.

Depending on how well it’s made, the plague doctor’s mask is actually effective, as it’s made using the same construction and principles as a gas mask.

“Can you see it?”

“What is this… … ?”

I scratched my head.

I often forget that even though the people I work with seem smart, they didn’t learn everything I learned.

“There is a bacterium called diplococcus pneumoniae, which is a pair of bacteria that are attached like that. It is a bacterium that can cause bleeding and severe respiratory infections.”

In severe cases, it can lead to sepsis and meningitis.

About half of all cases of meningitis are caused by pneumococcus. It’s a scary disease in many ways. Anyway, now that I know what it is, I feel a little better.

Hedwig tilted her head again.

“Then. Do you know what disease it is?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any plans?”

“It can be treated with penicillin, but lung damage that has already occurred cannot be treated with penicillin. Let’s start there.”

Hedwig compulsively wiped her clothes, then put down the alcohol-soaked handkerchief again.

“When the professor comes, the solution is immediately found. If it were me, I would have said, “The bacteria are strangely shaped… … .””

That’s true, actually.

What use would it be for someone else to know whether it’s pneumococcus or salmonella? It’s meaningless information and there’s no way for anyone else to know.

“No.”

Boom. Hedwig took off her plague doctor mask.

“If you have figured out what the disease is, let’s go see the market in Karnak. You will be curious to know what is going on.”

“Yes.”

Every time I went out to control the epidemic, I met a lord. The lords’ personalities were slightly different each time. How would it be this time?

****

“Are you Professor Asterix? I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard that you’re the most famous person in the social circles these days, literally the center of attention in the city-”

I frowned at the man’s words.

Is now the time to be talking about such trivial things?

Are you crazy?

The situation is so dire that you may have lost your mind for a moment. But you must not lose your mind. This man is the mayor of Karnak.

Not all the provinces belong to the lords.

Most of them are managed by local officials sent by the central government. Of course, they may have connections with local powers or minor nobles.

Mint explained it to me before.

Although it varies from person to person, in many cases like this, the real power lies not with the central official, but with the subordinates surrounding him.

If it were a noble family, they would be vassals, but in this case, they are local minor nobles employed by the mayor. So, it has a bit of a frivolous feel to it.

anyway.

Thud. I interrupted him by throwing the black crow mask on the mayor’s desk. Hedwig looked around anxiously.

Memento mori.

The black mask of the plague doctor is deeply associated with death, to the point that it symbolizes disaster and the Grim Reaper. The mayor kept his mouth shut in embarrassment.

“Time is urgent.”

“Ah… … . Go ahead.”

Still, he didn’t seem like a person who didn’t know shame. He might be short-sighted, though.

“The disease was confirmed immediately after arrival through a microscopic sputum examination. It is a disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, is highly contagious, and can cause bleeding and severe pneumonia.”

“What is the solution?”

“Movement restrictions and antibiotics. Is there any way to get antibiotics in the city? Or do you have any stockpiled?”

“There must be some. I don’t know how much there is. I’ll send someone to check right away.”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

I thought about it for a moment. There are more than one or two things I need. If I had to pick the one I need most right now-

“I need distilled liquor. A lot.”

“Distilled main?”

“Used for disinfection. It seems that healers compulsively consume it for fear of getting sick.”

“Okay. Do you have more?”

“The healers of the city are agitated by the sight of their fellows falling ill. Please come up with a plan to boost their morale.”

The mayor sighed and nodded.

“Is that so?”

“I’ve seen this in literature before. It’s a case from a very distant country called Spain.”

It’s a very far away country. That’s not a lie.

“A dangerous pneumonia broke out in Spain, and many medical staff fled their hospitals in panic. Eventually, soldiers had to be called in to clear out the hospitals, which were littered with rotting corpses.”

This is an incident that actually happened.

As coronavirus deaths surged in Spain and no countermeasures were put in place, medical staff abandoned their hospitals.

“Now that I hear it, that could be true.”

“I just saw a healer named Amira. She was sick with the plague and almost died from the blood that her patient had vomited.”

It was easy to convince.

In this market, it’s fortunate that people are simple. Simplicity is not just a disadvantage, but can also be an advantage.

“Let’s think of some support measures. Something like a gift to give to the people who see the patients… … .”

It sounds a bit strange when you say it’s a gift.

I’ll figure it out, that kind of thing.

“Then. I will go back to the ward. If you have any questions or advice, please call me by my last name at any time.”

The mayor nodded with a blank expression. Still, it seemed like he was struggling in his own way.