Chapter 974: Father of French Preventive Medicine
This preeminent French physician, the renowned inventor of the Percussion Method, proceeded without hesitation to dedicate himself to this endeavor upon learning of the Crown Prince's incredibly ambitious plan to establish national healthcare.
Joseph, observing his exceptional enthusiasm for the work, decided to appoint him as the Director of the Medical and Health Bureau.
Corvisart lived up to expectations. Immediately after taking office, he leveraged his influence in academic circles, gathering all of Paris's renowned physicians and pharmacists. In just over twenty days, they completed the first edition of the "Physician's Manual."
Beside him, Perna also gazed at the Crown Prince with an expectant expression.
She was also one of the key contributors to the manual.
However, as Joseph flipped through the manual, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper, until after a while, he burst out laughing.
This thing was less a guide to medicine and more a manual of witchcraft.
For instance, the manual repeatedly mentioned an herb called "marigold," which was practically a miracle cure.
From diuretics and sedatives to external wound dressings and even wine-soaked remedies for plagues, it was supposedly effective for everything!
Peppermint for gastrointestinal ailments.
And mercury for syphilis...
Joseph felt that these doctors simply used whatever they could get their hands on.
As for the efficacy?
Well, God would back them up in the end, wouldn't He?
Fortunately, thanks to Perna's repeated insistence, the manual contained no mention of bloodletting.
Of course, the manual also contained scientifically effective content, such as cinchona bark for treating malaria, opium tincture for pain relief, and the Crown Prince's Blessing for treating pneumonia.
It wasn't until Joseph reached the section on "Smallpox Diagnosis and Treatment" that he finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
The diagnosis aside, the recommended smallpox treatment was:
Mixing and grinding an unspecified amount of horse manure and rat tails, wrapping them in a red cloth, and steeping them in water to be consumed. Soaked in wine, it was said to be even more effective.
It was further supplemented: 'Since smallpox is a "punishment from God," one should pray devoutly after drinking the remedy...'
Corvisart and Perna's expressions both grew uneasy.
"Your Highness, is something amiss?"
Joseph truly wanted to retort, 'Almost everything is wrong with it!' but considering he didn't want to dampen their enthusiasm, he spoke gravely: "For example, regarding the method for treating smallpox, have you ever cured a patient using this 'remedy'?"
To his surprise, Corvisart nodded without hesitation: "Yes, Your Highness. I saved three smallpox patients with this medicine last year."
Joseph was stunned for a moment. "What? Horse manure and rat tails cured smallpox?"
He immediately patted his forehead. 'Right, smallpox can indeed self-resolve.'
He then asked: "How many people found this remedy ineffective?"
Corvisart still replied without hesitation: "About a dozen or so. But as you know, smallpox is notoriously difficult to treat, and this cure rate is already quite respectable."
Joseph sighed, then looked at Perna. "Do you recall the Double-blind Experiment method I mentioned to you?"
The physician nodded.
Joseph continued: "Has this remedy undergone a Double-blind Experiment?"
Perna cautiously replied: "Your Highness, this is already a confirmed effective prescription, so..."
Joseph rubbed his temples again.
'Where do you get such confidence?'
The mention of smallpox suddenly reminded him of the truly effective treatment. He immediately looked at Corvisart and asked: "Are you familiar with the method of Cowpox Vaccination to resist smallpox?"
"Cowpox?" The latter responded with some hesitation, "Are you referring to Variolation?
"This treatment, originating from the East... some indeed believe it to be effective, but more authoritative theories suggest it only causes healthy people to contract smallpox."
Joseph paused, slightly startled. He quickly asked: "You don't know about Cowpox? It's about inoculating people with pus from cows infected with smallpox."
Corvisart's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "This, I have never heard of it."
Perna also shook her head in agreement.
Joseph's Eyes Lit Up. 'Could it be that Cowpox Vaccination hasn't been invented yet in this era?'
In reality, the English physician Edward Jenner had already begun attempting Cowpox Vaccination two years prior. His son was the first recipient.
However, due to a lack of theoretical support and the uncomfortable nature of inoculating people with pus from sick cows, he had yet to publicly release his research findings.
Historically, he would only conclusively confirm two years later that cowpox could also immunize people against smallpox and begin promoting it. It wasn't until the early 19th century that this treatment gained widespread acceptance in England.
But now, this achievement would certainly belong to France.
Joseph was well aware that sixty to seventy thousand people died from smallpox in France each year, while hundreds of thousands more were disfigured by it.
Currently, the most effective preventive method was Variolation – implanting pus from the blisters of smallpox patients who were nearly recovered into healthy individuals.
Since this involved the authentic human smallpox virus, many healthy individuals would develop the disease and die directly after Variolation. This meant virtually no one was willing to undergo Variolation.
But Cowpox was different.
While it belonged to the same family as human smallpox, its infectivity to humans was very low. It could confer immunity without causing the disease.
Joseph immediately instructed Corvisart: "Please immediately organize a team to conduct Cowpox Vaccination experiments. That is, implant pus from sick cows into human bodies."
The latter immediately exclaimed in alarm: "Your Highness, how can this be? Those are cows!"
"Please trust me," Joseph had to resort to his old trick, making the sign of the cross over his chest. "These are all revelations from God.
"If you have any concerns, I can select some prisoner volunteers from the prison for the experiments."
Corvisart was still hesitating, but Perna had already nodded and said: "Alright, Your Highness, I will assist Monsieur Corvisart in completing the experiments."
The knowledge the Crown Prince imparted to her had never been wrong. She firmly believed he had truly received divine revelations.
Joseph knew absolutely nothing about vaccination itself and could only explain the concept once. The rest would have to be completed by professionals.
'Hmm, those transmigration novels where the protagonist immediately grabs a sick cow and vaccinates people are just a joke.'
'How should sick cows be selected? What kind of pus should be used? What's the dosage? Should it be diluted? How should people of different constitutions be handled?'
'These all require extensive experimentation to determine; otherwise, it's treating human life like wild grass.'
He then discussed vaccination with the two doctors for a while. Upon hearing that Variolation involved cutting open the skin with a knife and dripping pus into the wound, he immediately shook his head and asked: "Haven't we already started producing Syringes? Why are we still using incisions for vaccination?"
Corvisart blinked in confusion. "Syringe? What is that?"
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