However, Chasel was filled with doubt. Leo had been checking the pulse for a full ten minutes, which was unprecedented.
After another two minutes, Leo stopped checking the pulse and examined the soldier’s mouth and nose.
After finishing, Leo turned to the two officers beside him and asked, “You said people with this illness have been to the hospital?”
“Yes, our comrades who got sick earlier went to Langstel Hospital and the military hospital!” The officer quickly nodded.
“What did the hospital say?” Leo asked with a frown.
“The hospital said it was a viral infection, but they couldn’t determine what virus it was. There were no effective antiviral drugs to treat it.”
“Many of our comrades died within a month after being diagnosed…”
The officer’s tone was very sorrowful.
“You mean there are many people in your unit with this illness?” Willow asked urgently.
The officer nodded gravely.
Willow immediately thought of something and quickly reminded Leo, “Leo, if so many people are sick at the same time, it’s likely transmitted through the air. They need to be sent to the hospital for isolation immediately, or there could be a larger outbreak!”
“Willow, don’t worry. Although I can’t identify this virus yet, I can see that it’s not transmitted through the air. It’s most likely transmitted through blood.”
After speaking, Leo glanced at the two officers with a questioning look.
If this disease was highly airborne, these patients wouldn’t have been able to be brought here.
“Yes, yes!” The officer nodded repeatedly, showing great excitement. “Dr. Bloomer is right. The hospital doctors said this virus is only transmitted through blood, not through the air, so there’s no need to panic!”
“Then why is there such a large-scale outbreak?” Willow asked with a frown.
“It might not be due to transmission; perhaps they came into contact with some source of infection,” Leo speculated.
Leo then asked the two officers, “What are the symptoms of other soldiers with this illness?”
“First, they have a fever, then red rashes appear on their bodies. They vomit and have diarrhea; some cough up blood, some go into shock, and others suffer liver and kidney damage…”
Leo nodded slightly after hearing this and said solemnly, “The symptoms are very similar to Ebola virus infection!”
“Ebola!?” Chasel’s face changed dramatically upon hearing this. “Sir, isn’t Ebola virus from Africa!?”
Ebola is named after a river in northern Congo where an unknown virus once ravaged both banks, killing many local residents.
“I don’t know,” Leo said gravely. “I have some understanding of Ebola virus, but while these symptoms are very similar to Ebola, they are not exactly the same because they also show some symptoms of dengue fever!”
“Dr. Bloomer, can you save my comrades? They are my brothers who fought alongside me. They didn’t die on the battlefield but fell to a virus. It’s so frustrating!”
The officer’s eyes reddened, and his voice trembled.
“We heard you are the best doctor in Langstel, so we came here specifically to seek your help!”
Leo stood up and said in a deep voice, “I can’t guarantee I can create a cure for this illness, but I can suppress their symptoms at least for a few months to buy time for developing a treatment!”
“That’s great!” The two officers were overjoyed upon hearing this. They thought they had come to the right place. If Leo could treat these few soldiers, then their other comrades would also be saved.
“Chasel, bring me the medical kit!” Leo said as he walked to the desk and wrote a prescription.
When Chasel brought the medical kit, Leo handed him the prescription and said, “Prepare several doses of this medicine. Use it to wipe their bodies.”
“Okay!” Chasel quickly agreed, took the prescription, and ran into the pharmacy.
Leo took the medical kit and squatted in front of one of the soldiers. He said to the officer beside him, “Cut off all their clothes. While waiting for the medicine to be ready, use clean water to wipe their bodies and reduce their fever.”
Leo then began acupuncture on the patient in front of him.
“Hurry up! Didn’t you hear Dr. Bloomer? Get moving!” The officer immediately ordered his soldiers.
The soldiers quickly took out their multi-functional knives and cut open their comrades’ clothes.
Willow found masks and gloves and distributed them to the healthy soldiers. She brought a basin of clean water and some towels, soaked them in water, and handed them to the soldiers to wipe down the patients.
However, these soldiers had no experience in caregiving and were clumsy in wiping their comrades’ bodies, using too much force.
Seeing this, Willow quickly said, “You can’t wipe like that! They have rashes on their bodies; too much force will cause them to rupture!”
She put on a mask and gloves, squatted in front of one patient, rolled up a towel over his chest, and gently pressed it against his chest.
“Do it like this,” she demonstrated. “Be as gentle as possible.”
The soldiers followed her example.
Willow continued wiping down her patient.
The patient in front of her had the most severe symptoms; his face and chest were completely red like a hot iron.
He coughed intermittently, spitting out red blood foam that splattered on Willow’s white coat.
Suddenly, the patient Willow was caring for shuddered violently, coughed hard, and spat a mouthful of blood onto Willow.
“Ah!” Willow screamed in fright and stood up abruptly; her white coat was stained with blood.
“Willow!” Leo looked up sharply. Seeing the blood on Willow’s chest, his face changed dramatically.
He rushed over to Willow, grabbed her collar, and tore off her white coat swiftly. He balled it up and threw it into a nearby trash can.