Chapter 115 The situation is not optimistic
Pond Village.

It got its name because there is a large pond on each side of the village entrance.

The village is located in a basin surrounded by three mountains and is surrounded by rice fields divided into irregular shapes.

Some of the high terrain is dry fields and villagers' vegetable fields.

There are four surnames in this village, namely Jiang, Chen, Hu and Jin, with a population of nearly 400. In the north, there are many villages of this size, but here, it is already a rare large village in northern Guangxi County.

At this time, a large group of people gathered by the big pond, divided into two groups, and were arguing with words and gestures.

The larger group had about a hundred people, obviously villagers. Several older ones stood in front of the crowd, excitedly telling something, while the young men behind them had fierce looks on their faces, eager to try.

On the other side, there were only three people, two men and one woman, holding a bucket in their hands. They stopped the villagers and tried hard to explain.

Wang Mengde and his group walked closer, but since both parties were speaking the local dialect and too fast, even he could not hear what they were arguing about.

When the villagers saw the six of them, they didn't pay much attention and just looked at them curiously.

The three people on the other side had happy expressions on their faces. One of the girls came over and whispered in a strange tone, "Excuse me, are you the doctors who are here to support us?"

If she hadn't spoken so slowly, several people wouldn't have understood what she was saying.

"Yes, is this what's going on?" Wang Mengde asked first.

"We are from the Guibei County Propaganda Team. My name is Deng Lin. I came to this village with my colleagues to paint slogans and publicize the precautions for the prevention and treatment of schistosomiasis.

We happened to see villagers preparing to go fishing in the pond, so the three of us hurriedly stopped them and told them that the pond was prone to infection, but they didn’t understand and an argument broke out. ”

Deng Lin said word by word.

"Now it's okay. You are doctors. They should listen to what you say."

"Why do they need so many people to fish in the pond? Can't they fish on the shore?" Zhu Tao asked curiously.

"In fact, this is a tradition in our county. In the past, two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, many villages would organize fishing activities under the leadership of their respective clan leaders, and each household would send people to participate in the competition of fishing with bare hands in the public fish ponds shared by all villagers."

Deng Lin explained with gestures.

The traditional custom of manual fishing during the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, this traditional way of fishing, which can only be done with bare hands or with the help of fishing nets, has been passed down in northern Guangxi County for thousands of years.

Wang Mengde knew about this tradition. In his previous life, he had been here during the Mid-Autumn Festival and had participated in a competition to catch fish with bare hands.

That time, although he was not experienced, his shorts helped him a lot in the end and he did not lose everything.

While they were communicating, something new happened by the pond.

Seven or eight young men from the village had surrounded the remaining two members of the propaganda team and were pushing them impatiently with their hands. Among the remaining people, dozens of them were preparing to jump into the fish pond.

Several people rushed over, rescued the two propaganda team members first, and then came to several elders.

When I got closer, I found that they were all thin, but their stomachs were surprisingly big.

His heart sank, Wang Mengde knew that these were the symptoms of late-stage schistosomiasis. The abdominal cavity was filled with fluid, and according to the current medical level, there was no cure.

Moreover, even in later generations, with such symptoms, the hope of surviving is slim.

Looking behind them, they saw that among dozens of young and middle-aged people, about 20% had their stomachs starting to swell, and even a few half-grown children seemed to be infected.

Seeing their unfriendly expressions, Wang Mengde said a few words to Deng Lin.

Deng Lin nodded, and then spoke loudly to several elders and villagers in the local dialect.

On the opposite side, the leading elder was stunned for a moment, then sighed and spoke quickly.

After hearing his words, Deng Lin turned to Wang Mengde with a frustrated look on his face and said:
“Comrade Wang, Chief Jiang just said that he appreciates our kindness, but for thousands of years, our ancestors have never found a cure for this disease, and they have long been accustomed to it.

Infected is a matter of time anyway, life and death are left to fate, so they are not afraid. "

The words were full of sadness.

"You can tell them that young people and children can still be saved when they are first infected. After treatment, they just need to pay more attention to protection in their daily lives and they will be fine.

However, if you do not take protective measures after the treatment, it will cause repeated infection, the condition will worsen, and there will be little hope of recovery. "

Wang Mengde said hurriedly.

"Really?"

After listening to Deng Lin's translation, Chief Jiang's face suddenly turned red and he stared at him intently.

"Really!" Wang Mengde nodded heavily.

"Okay, okay." Chief Jiang said two "okay" words with trembling lips, then turned around tremblingly and looked at the villagers, especially the infected children.

After taking a quick glance, he took a few breaths, his face full of excitement, and was about to say a few words to them.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he suddenly leaned back.

Wang Mengde acted quickly, took two steps forward, came behind him and supported his body.

A dozen or so young villagers at the back were instantly furious when they saw their chief fall down. They surrounded him one by one with their fists clenched. Fortunately, they were stopped by the elders in front who scolded them.

Ignoring the noise around him, he carefully laid Chief Jiang flat on the ground, then took out a small cloth bag from his waist.

He took out a few silver needles from the cloth bag and then inserted the needle.

Soon, Patriarch Jiang opened his eyes. He looked weak, but when he saw everyone's concerned eyes, he forced a smile to indicate that he was fine.

He tilted his head and saw several silver needles inserted in his body. He looked at Wang Mengde carefully and made a decision in his heart.

"Go back, all of you."

"Chief, this fishing..."

"Go back, this year's fishing activities are cancelled." Patriarch Jiang said with his eyes closed.

Everyone else looked at each other. Some young people wanted to say something, but fearing the clan leader's authority, they could only keep it in their hearts and walked back to the village in disappointment.

Wang Mengde and others also followed them into the village.

Walking into the village along the dirt road, you can see that every house is built not with bricks or adobe, but with wood and boards.

A half-meter-deep ditch circles around most of the houses in the village and then flows to the rice fields in the west.

The water in this ditch is spring water brought down from the nearby mountains.

Every household uses water from this ditch for washing clothes, cooking, washing vegetables and rice. After entering the home of the Jiang clan elder, he lay on the bed, looking at the young man who was checking his pulse, and he smiled and said, "I know my health well, and I don't think I can survive much longer, maybe next year."

Next to him, after Deng Lin translated, Wang Mengde did not speak. Patriarch Jiang was indeed terminally ill and his body was almost exhausted.

Having been tortured by schistosomiasis for a long time, coupled with various complications, even if there is a way to treat schistosomiasis now, it can only extend life expectancy by a year or two at most.

He pulled his hand back and thought for a moment, not knowing how to comfort her.

Given this physical condition, he could only use some medicine to help Chief Jiang suffer less pain in the end.

Patriarch Jiang seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled freely:
"Doctor Wang, please don't worry about my health. Several children in the village have contracted this disease. They are still so young and have a long life ahead of them. I'm sorry to bother you with my care."

"Don't worry, we came from the north this time because the country is determined to completely eliminate this disease."

Wang Mengde said seriously.

"Oh, by the way, I need to examine the sick children and young people one by one in person so that I can prescribe medicine for them."

"No problem. Eldest son, second son, help me go to the ancestral hall. Third son, you go door to door to notify everyone to go to the ancestral hall." Patriarch Jiang ordered his three sons.

In northern Guangxi County, every village, the same family basically has its own ancestral hall.

Unless a family has a very small population, with only one or two households, there will be no ancestral hall.

The group arrived at the Jiang's ancestral hall, which was obviously taller and more spacious than the houses of the residents next door. Soon, more than a hundred people, young and old, men, women and children with the surname Jiang from Chitang Village gathered at the entrance of the hall.

Not far away, many villagers from the other three surnames also came over curiously to watch the fun.

Chief Jiang said a few simple words, and then the villagers infected with schistosomiasis lined up in an orderly manner and entered the ancestral hall one by one.

After more than an hour of consultation, Wang Mengde and the other six people looked very serious.

They didn't expect the situation to be so serious. On the way here, the staff from Guibei County said it was even more serious.

Among more than a hundred people, twenty or thirty were infected with schistosomiasis, accounting for an astonishing quarter, and there were seven or eight severe patients.

Among the remaining people, except for a few children, the physical condition is not optimistic. If they are not treated, they will develop serious illnesses in a few years.

This ratio is obviously much higher than the data provided by the county. It seems that many places are not very accurate when verifying the patient population, or there are too many new patients.

Thinking of this, Wang Mengde and the other six people became restless.

"Grandpa Jiang, we now understand everyone's situation. We will go back immediately and bring medicine to treat everyone tomorrow morning."

"Thank you for your hard work. Please have dinner before leaving." Patriarch Jiang said with gratitude.

"No, no, we have to go back quickly and figure out how to use the medicine." Wang Mengde declined.

"Well, when you come tomorrow morning, you must have a meal in the village at noon."

After leaving the ancestral hall, the group had just taken a few steps and before they reached the village entrance, they were surrounded by a group of people. The clan leaders and elders of the remaining three surnames in the village also came after hearing the news.

Seeing everyone's eager looks, Wang Mengde and his companions had no choice but to go to the ancestral halls of the three families one by one.

In the evening, it was already dark.

Hu Danian walked in front with a flashlight.

He saw that Wang Mengde and a few others had been out for a long time and had not returned yet. He knew that they were unfamiliar with the place and could not speak the language, so he was afraid that something might happen to them, so he came over.

After returning to the guesthouse in Wenqiao Township, I said goodbye to Deng Lin and the other two and had a simple meal.

Lying on the floor, Wang Mengde, who had been tired all day, couldn't fall asleep.

His mind was full of what he had seen today, especially the villagers with big bellies and painful looks on their faces.

Unfortunately, there is only one drug in the world called "potassium antimony tartrate" that is most effective in treating schistosomiasis. Most of the other treatments are difficult to even treat the symptoms, let alone the root cause.

However, "potassium antimony tartrate" also has great disadvantages. It is not only highly toxic, has many side effects, and has a high mortality rate, but it also requires frequent intravenous injections, which is very inconvenient.

Using this kind of medicine for treatment can easily lead to heavy metal poisoning, which is a bit like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Wang Mengde didn't sleep all night.

He combined some treatment methods from his previous life in the space and figured out four prescriptions. He planned to go to Chitang Village in the morning to try out the efficacy of the medicines.

In the morning, dozens of medical staff who came to provide support got up early.

After eating some local specialty breakfast - rice noodles, they were led by township staff and went to various villages together with the propaganda team.

Pond Village.

Wang Mengde, Qian Dayong and Zhu Tao, carrying several packets of Chinese herbal medicines, were greeted by villagers before they even reached the village entrance.

As for the other three people who came with them yesterday, they were assigned to another village.

As there were many sick people, they simply boiled the medicine in four large iron pots in the ancestral hall and then shared it among the people.

After a busy day, by the time I finished taking the medicine and making the records, it was almost noon.

Zhu Tao and Qian Dayong were left in the ancestral hall to observe the patient's condition, while Wang Mengde walked alone in the village. Following the slightly familiar road, he soon arrived at a place.

When I saw that it was an empty lot and no house had been built yet, I was stunned.

After standing for a while, he smiled, then walked towards the ancestral hall with a relaxed look on his face.

More than twenty days passed since then.

Wang Mengde constantly observed the condition of the patients in the village and occasionally adjusted the prescriptions. After these days of treatment, their conditions had improved to some extent.

But if you want a complete cure, there is basically no hope with current treatments.

"Meng De, in the next village, four people used 'potassium antimony tartrate'. One died not long after, two were poisoned by heavy metals and are being rescued, and there is another patient who is still under observation and search."

Qian Dayong said in a low voice.

"Oh, this disease is too difficult to cure." Zhu Tao also sighed and said.

The two of them were able to enter the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they were considered to be the chosen ones. Both their talent and ability were among the best among their peers, but they were helpless when it came to schistosomiasis.

"Don't be discouraged. With so many of us, we will definitely find a way to treat the disease." Wang Mengde encouraged them.

"By the way, I have developed several prescriptions for heavy metal poisoning these days, which should be able to solve many heavy metal poisoning symptoms."

(End of this chapter)