After Ma Yilong's reminder, the three of them remembered the important business of today.

Er Li quickly led him and Zhao Hao to the biological laboratory opposite the pathogen laboratory.

As soon as Ma Yilong entered, he saw six sealed boxes on the ground. On the pieces of paper pasted on them were written the names of six counties, including "Tongxiang" and "Wukang".

"These are the diseased silkworms sent from the six counties affected by the disaster, and the silkworm baskets they are in." Zhao Hao introduced to Ma Yilong: "I asked them to send them directly to the medical school for pathogen identification."

The room was filled with silkworm specimens, it was like a large-scale silkworm killing scene.

"..." Ma Yilong couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Shouldn't this kind of thing be sent to the Agricultural College? Could it be that these guys who treat people know more about raising silkworms than I do?

Perhaps they had never seen a silkworm before. That's not right. According to medical knowledge, silkworms, silkworm exuviae, and silkworm sand can all be used as medicine... Even the white silkworms with white muscardine disease can be used to treat a variety of diseases.

But their knowledge of silkworms is limited to this, right? When Zhao boy asks them for help, isn't it like asking a blind man for advice?

Seeing that Ma Yilong remained silent, Zhao Hao knew that he did not believe that a medical school could treat silkworms. He smiled and said to the two Doctors Li, "Come on, tell us what you have discovered."

"Fei Yan is in charge of this matter." Li Shizhen glanced at his eldest disciple and said, "You should speak for it."

"Yes, Master." Pang Xian Pang Feiyan responded, and then said to Zhao Hao: "After receiving the sick silkworms, we followed the 'Four-step Identification Law' taught by the Master, and first compared the sick silkworms and healthy silkworms under a microscope. We found that the sick silkworms with white muscardine disease in Tongxiang and other three counties had oval short hyphae in their blood, while the healthy silkworms did not have any."

"The silkworm disease in Wukang and other three counties has another manifestation - microscopic examination of the blood shows tiny particles moving. The more particles there are, the more serious the disease is. Because their body color is dark and rusty, we temporarily call it 'rust disease'."

"Oh..." Ma Yilong put aside his unhappiness when he heard that there was something, and asked curiously: "What kind of microscope do you have that can see things in the blood?"

"Of course." Pang Xian smiled and placed a prepared glass slide under the microscope. After adjusting the focus, he taught Ma Yilong to look at it.

"Oh my God..." Ma Yilong exclaimed in surprise when he saw so much stuff in the blood.

Pang Xian made a comparison for him one by one, and Ma Yilong looked carefully with wide eyes, and there seemed to be some difference. However, his eyes were already blurry, and he could not see clearly.

"Does this mean that the silkworm disease is caused by these two little things?"

"We can't say that at this point. We have to strictly follow the 'four-step diagnosis and treatment rule' and get solid evidence before we can confirm it."

"What are the remaining three steps?" Ma Yilong's attitude immediately changed and he became as humble as a primary school student.

"The second step is to isolate the microorganisms and obtain pure cultures in the culture medium." Pang Xian then said, "The third step is to

The same disease will recur if the microorganisms are inoculated back into the healthy silkworms.

If we can further separate and process this microorganism, it can be proved that it is the pathogen of the disease.”

"Hmm..." Ma Yilong thought for a moment and couldn't help but applaud in admiration: "Yan Ban's idea is impeccable!"

"I am ashamed to say that this microscope and the four-step diagnosis method were both invented by Mr. Zhao, and we are just reaping the benefits of his achievements." Pang Xian said modestly.

"Hey, Director Pang, you can't say that." Zhao Hao said modestly, "Science is a relay race. I am just passing the baton from my predecessors to you."

The two Li doctors nodded secretly. Although Mr. Zhao had many shortcomings, his virtue of modesty was indisputable. In fact, they mainly complained that Zhao Hao came too little... It was too painful to grope in the dark without anyone to guide them.

"Science..." Ma Yilong suddenly felt that he was too proud in the past. He always subconsciously regarded science as a trick, and did not really understand its essence, nor did he really introduce it into the Agricultural College.

At least compared to medical school, it’s far behind…

~~

"After identifying the two sources of infection," Pang Xian took out a thick experimental diary from the bookcase and continued while flipping through it:

"We started to study the transmission routes of the two diseases. After observation, we found that white muscardine disease is mainly transmitted through contact with sick silkworms, and secondly through trauma. After the sick silkworms die, a layer of white silk is generated on their body surface. It is very easy to fall off, and it is light and large in quantity. It will be blown away by the wind. Healthy silkworms will become sick if they touch it."

"But fortunately, according to our observations, all silkworms born from silkworm eggs are healthy... Even silkworms hatched from eggs laid by diseased moths have no pathogens in their blood until they become adult moths." Pang Xian said, looking at Zhao Hao and said, "So can we infer that this disease will not be passed on to the next generation?"

"If that's the case, the problem will be much easier to solve!" Zhao Hao clapped his hands and laughed, "Right now the spring silkworms have been laid, but the summer silkworms have not yet been raised. If all the silkworm eggs are fine, then as long as we thoroughly disinfect the silkworm houses and mulberry fields in these counties, we should be able to prevent white muscardine disease."

"That's great. Beauveria bassiana is much less resistant to disinfectants than mold. The several disinfection methods we currently have can easily inactivate it." Pang Xian laughed happily.

Ma Yilong was stunned and asked stutteringly, "Is it so simple to cure white muscular disease?"

He used the medicine he prepared himself and took good care of the silkworms, but he could only cure 80% of the diseased silkworms. The disease always recurred, which was naturally a little unbelievable.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be possible." Zhao Hao nodded with a smile.

"But don't be happy too soon. The other kind of 'silkworm rust' is much more troublesome." Li Lunming was used to pouring cold water on others.

"What do you mean?" Ma Yilong asked hurriedly.

"We found that the silkworms born from the eggs of diseased moths are naturally diseased!" Pang Xian said in a deep voice, "That is to say, the silkworms infected in the previous period will become the source of infection in the next period, making the disease cycle again and again, and it is difficult to cure it. Therefore, the method used to deal with white muscardine disease cannot eliminate silkworm rust."

“In other words, we need to find healthy silkworms first, and then we can get healthy eggs?” After all, Ma Yilong had been a Hanlin scholar and a prefect, so he quickly grasped the key.

"That's right." Li Lunming continued, "A research team found that silkworms produced from diseased eggs have slow development after hatching, and some die at the same age, with some dying before the fourth instar. And they will infect other silkworms, so they must be eliminated resolutely!"

"The simplest way is to destroy all the silkworm eggs in the affected counties and import healthy silkworms from other counties." Ma Yilong immediately thought of a countermeasure, but then said bitterly: "But if this happens, the sericulture industry in these counties will probably not recover for many years."

After the silkworms emerge from their cocoons, they begin mating, which can last for half a day or even a whole day. However, once they separate, the male moth dies of exhaustion, and the female moth immediately begins to lay eggs. Silkworm farmers use thick paper made of mulberry bark to hold silkworm eggs. One silkworm can lay more than 200 eggs, which naturally stick to the paper and are evenly spread out one by one, without any accumulation. Silkworm farmers store the silkworm egg paper and prepare to use it the next year.

Silkworm eggs need to go through a dormant period of six months or ten months before they can hatch. They are also very sensitive and fragile. Once the temperature fluctuates or the humidity changes too much, many of them will not hatch properly. Silkworm farmers take care of silkworm eggs more carefully than they do pregnant women, and they are lucky if half of them survive.

The silkworms are also fragile, and will not spin cocoons if they are slightly frightened. So during the silkworm-raising months, Jiangnan is not allowed to visit relatives, and no crying, quarreling, or noise is allowed at home. The whole family dares not breathe. But even with such carefulness, there are always two or three out of ten silkworms that cannot spin cocoons. In addition, there are inevitable natural disasters such as silkworm diseases, and half of the seeds must be replenished.

Besides, all counties now want to expand production, and the silkworm eggs produced by silkworm farmers are insufficient for their own use. Where can they buy silkworm eggs?

So unless it is absolutely necessary, we cannot start from scratch...

"Is there any way to distinguish diseased silkworms from diseased moths?" Ma Yilong asked hopefully, since he couldn't tell the difference with his naked eyes anyway.

"This is the focus of our research, and we have set up a research team for this purpose." Pang Xian replied: "After tracking, we found that the black spots cannot be detected in silkworm eggs using a microscope. As the larvae grow up, these black spots gradually appear, and they are clearly visible in the pupa stage. The number of black spots in the bodies of diseased moths is alarming, so we suggest that in order to screen out disease-free silkworm eggs, we should use moths as the starting point for detection and control."

"Good!" Young Master Zhao clapped his hands and praised: "Your level is improving by leaps and bounds. This time, you are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!"

"..." Ma Yilong was no longer jealous this time, but said sincerely: "The level of your medical school is much higher than that of the Agricultural College. I am ashamed of myself."

"Hey, Mr. Menghe, don't say that." Li Shizhen smiled faintly and said, "Since our Jiangnan Hospital was established, we have made epidemic prevention and control a top priority, and have been fighting schistosomiasis in Kunshan. Of course, we have more experience."

As he spoke, he praised Master Zhao as if his conscience had been awakened, saying, "This is all thanks to you for introducing science into medicine."

"No, no." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "I just pointed out the direction slightly. It's all thanks to your hard work over the years..."

Plague was rampant during the Little Ice Age, and the Black Death ravaged Europe for hundreds of years. In the Ming Dynasty, plague also became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The plague pandemic that lasted for decades in Guanzhong and northern China caused large-scale deaths.

Especially in October of the 16th year of Chongzhen, the Great Plague in Beijing killed more than 200,000 people in Beijing. When Li Zicheng's army was at the gates of the city, the plague-ridden Beijing city could not even organize a decent resistance, and they were so unhappy that they hanged themselves on Coal Hill...

Master Zhao regarded the plague as an enemy more dangerous than Wild Boar Skin and Li Chuang. From the very beginning, he wanted to train a "Wu Liande" of the Ming Dynasty to lead the people of the Ming Dynasty to defeat the plague god!

So Master Zhao said that the silkworm disease was a good thing. At least it allowed Jiangnan Hospital to practice in advance how to fight infectious diseases.

Although one is a silkworm and the other is a human, the principles are the same.