African Entrepreneurship Record
Chapter 124 - 119: Tropical Disease Research Center

Chapter 124: Chapter 119: Tropical Disease Research Center

January 4, 1868

Berlin is the political center of Prussia and also one of its academic centers.

Numerous Prussian colleges, academic and research institutions gather here.

Today, Ernst also established a medical research institute in Berlin — the Tropical Diseases Research Center.

Ernst’s understanding of medicine is like blowing through a dough-rolling pin; he knows nothing. But with money, there is nothing that can’t be done. With funds in place, talented individuals will come to him.

The Tropical Diseases Research Center, as the name suggests, mainly tackles tropical diseases.

As a mid-latitude country without overseas colonies, Prussia’s research in tropical diseases is almost zero compared to contemporary countries like Britain and France.

In this era, not to mention tropical diseases, even ordinary infectious diseases were still in the exploration stage, so achieving results is as hard as climbing to the sky.

Ernst does not expect the research results to immediately improve medical conditions in East Africa, but it is never wrong to make early technical reserves.

Why were those Western medical companies and research institutions able to monopolize the most cutting-edge theories and technologies in medicine in the previous life?

Wasn’t it because they started early, plus the strong national power of the West, allowing them to build a solid fortress?

And the Tropical Diseases Research Center bears the responsibility of preparing technology and experience for East Africa’s future medicine. Falling behind one step is not the issue; it is falling behind at every step that is frightening.

Although the name of the Tropical Diseases Research Center includes the word "tropical," its research field is not limited to the tropics.

This research center will be divided into two parts, one built in East Africa, and the other in Berlin.

After all, conducting infectious disease research in Berlin without preservation technology makes it hard to get samples of tropical viruses and bacteria (living ones are fine), so the Berlin part mainly studies traditional diseases in the European continent.

And in East Africa, establishing a Tropical Diseases Research Center undoubtedly requires more money, for instance, in staffing, they can only choose those European medical talents who have received higher education.

Without huge benefits, who would risk their lives in Africa for you? Excluding those who are purely passionate and hold lofty ideals willing to sacrifice for the human medical career, everyone still has to eat.

Therefore, the salaries of personnel at the East African Tropical Diseases Research Center must not be low, and they must also receive large insurance to alleviate their worries.

As for medical equipment, it’s a huge expense, which can’t be saved. To achieve results, the blessing of the most advanced medical tools is indispensable.

Berlin is okay, but for East Africa, it still has to be transported across the sea, which is time-consuming, laborious, and money-consuming.

Meanwhile, Ernst plans to purchase a batch of medical materials from around the world for specialists’ reference.

For example, penicillin, something Ernst heard Huaxia had contact with in ancient times, Ernst doesn’t know if it’s true, after all, in his previous life the internet was like a big sewage ditch, rumors cost no effort.

But "Artemisinin" has official endorsement, so it must be recorded in ancient Huaxia medical books.

Apart from traditional Chinese medicine, other parts of the world have their own medicine or witch doctors.

There are always some successful cases and mature pharmaceuticals in these medical practices for professionals to study.

Actually, according to the characteristics of this era, there is no need to establish a separate disease research center in the colony.

Many countries set up research institutes domestically and collect samples from all over the world.

Ernst’s reason for making great efforts to replicate a research center in East Africa is mainly due to the fear in his cognition.

In the previous life, those infectious diseases in Africa were notorious, AIDS, Ebola, Marburg... each a pinnacle virus.

So Ernst is very cautious; if African virus samples are brought to Europe causing huge losses... the consequences would be unimaginable, especially if it is traced back to Ernst as the source, then there would be no place for Ernst in the world.

Of course, this is a bit like "worrying about an imaginary problem." In the previous life, Africa was a virus hotbed for special reasons.

Africa, as the cradle of humanity, retained the most diverse genes, providing various possibilities for virus mutations.

Plus, Africans, with poor sanitation conditions, such as drinking dirty water, eating raw meat...

Also, other conditions conducive to virus generation, such as war, and poor medical conditions, allowed Africa in the previous life to become a viral hotbed.

As for the natural environment, South America, India, and Africa are similar, so the environment is not the main reason.

Moreover, the East African colony that Ernst established itself is tasked with driving away the local ethnic groups, thus reducing the genetic diversity of the local population.

At the same time, improving sanitation conditions in the colony and clearing wild animals (especially primates) near living areas further compresses the breeding and spread of viruses and diseases.

With the continuous enlargement of the East African colony, it will undoubtedly affect the entire African pattern in the future, and it is hard to say whether those frightening viruses from the previous life will emerge.

For example, AIDS, its origin was in Congo (Gold), and it appeared around the mid to late 20th century.

Now the time is still early! And according to the expansion speed of the East African colony and the current expansion goals, sooner or later the East African colony will conquer the western Mitumba Mountains and the southern Congo plateau regions.

These are areas where tropical savannas and tropical rainforests converge, suitable for agricultural development. In the previous life, Rwanda occupied part of Congo’s territory in the Mitumba Mountains.

Whether or not to conquer the entire Congo, Ernst hasn’t considered, after all, tropical rainforests are really hard to develop, and with the help of rainforests, the natives there are also difficult to drive away.

However, when conquering the northwest region, some natives would definitely flee west into Congo, and when entering Zambia in the future, the kingdoms there would also face the fate of being driven into the Congo rainforest by the East African colony.

But the rainforest is not a place where people can live; in the previous life, most Congolese settled along the edge of the Congo Basin.

To feed so many people, they can only continue to flee north, to the Central African plains, or the West African regions.

In any case, the Congo region will certainly be different from the previous life, and it is uncertain whether diseases like AIDS will appear.

However, Ernst’s concerns are not unfounded; in the previous life, the Marburg virus was discovered in a laboratory in Marburg, West Germany, so it is indeed necessary to establish a separate research center in East Africa.

The Marburg virus originated from monkeys in Uganda and Kenya, and Kenya is currently East African territory.

So, currently, Ernst’s activities to exterminate native primates in the East African region still have some rationale.

We must understand that it is the 19th century now; medical conditions are only worse than in 1967 (when the Marburg virus was discovered), so it’s more prudent to choose the method of direct physical extermination.