Pasteur, Koch, & Germs Part 5: Plague, References

In May of 1893, there was an eruption of the bubonic plague: Yersin, Alexandre. The Bubonic Plague in Hong Kong. 1894. English translation by Joko. August, 2025. Accessed August 17, 2025. https://forbidden-knowledge.com/reference_docs/1894-yersin-the-bubonic-plague-in-hong-kong.pdf

Everything to do with Yersin’s assertions and experiments comes from his 1894 paper unless otherwise stated.

The French government was concerned: Yersin. 1894.

Therefore the French government hired a student: Yersin. 1894.

The [appearance] of a plague patient: Lowson, James A. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. Hong Kong. 1895. Archived at https://archive.org/details/b24398287/page/n4/mode/1up

They would typically appear near: Yersin. 1894.

the disease was known to attack: Yersin. 1894.

“I have had no difficulty: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.32. See also Yersin, 1894.

the plague sprang up twice in fiftheenth century Iceland: Karlsson, Gunnar. Plague without rats: the case of fifteenth-century Iceland. Elsevier, 1996.

In 1887 an Ordinance entitled: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.4.

“The fæces were also suspected as an additional: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.3.

“the fæces were always looked upon as: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.3.

“if proper sanitary precautions are taken, no civilised country: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.3.

The most terrible and fatal of these: Wallace. The Wonderful Century: Its Successes and Its Failures. Dodd, Mead and Company, 1899. p.213f.

if the whole population of a country: Wallace. The Wonderful Century. p.213f.

the Chinese had a death-rate of 93.4 percent, whereas the Europeans only had a death rate of 18.2 percent: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.22.

“should be destroyed, preferably by fire”: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic plague in 1894. p.31.

Kitasato Shibasaburō made the same finding as Yersin did: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.3.

The bacilli are often few and far between: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.16.

they were all stripped naked and their clothes “were burned on admission”: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.17.

sanitized using eucalyptus oil, carbolic acid, potassium permanganate, and a disinfectant known as Jeyes’ fluid: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.17.

The first drug prescribed to plague victims was calomel: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.13, 17ff.

combined with another purgative, such as jalap powder: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.18.

“because of its strong purgative properties: Reality Pathing. Steps to Safely Prepare and Consume Jalap Powder. Accessed August 17, 2025. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250818021839/https://realitypathing.com/steps-to-safely-prepare-and-consume-jalap-powder/

The Alice Branch Memorial Hospital also experimented: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.20.

ammonia ... tincture of cinchona ... and chloroform water: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.18.

the herbs digitalis, strophanthus, and strychnia: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.18.

Strophanthus has historically been used to prevent heart disease: Cowan, Tom. Heart Attacks & Strophanthus- Webinar from April 9th, 2025. https://odysee.com/@Dr.TomCowan:8/Heart-Attacks-and-Strophanthus-Webinar-from-April-92025:2

Morphine, hyoscine, potassium chloride, or potassium bromide: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.19. Note that Lowson used different names for all of these. Morphine he called morphia; hyoscine he called hyoscin; and potassium chloride and potassium bromide were referred to as “Chloral and bromide of potash.”

as both Yersin and Lowson claimed: For Yersin’s claim, see Yersin, 1894. For Lowson’s claim, see Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.8, 10, 23.

High levels of potassium, known as hyperkalemia, can cause the heart to stop: How Potassium Affects Heart Health. VeryWell Health. Accessed August 17, 2025. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250722032631/https://www.verywellhealth.com/potassium-and-heart-failure-regulating-potassium-levels-5211758

opium enemas: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.20.

suppositories made of a quarter of a gram of morphine and a half gram of cocaine: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.20.

glycerine, belladonna, iodine, senega, camphor ... catheterization and ... oxygen: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.20.

The terrors of the disease itself were rendered: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.8.

Lowson even called the Chinese ignorant: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.8. Specifically, Lowson referred to ‘the natural suspicion and ignorance of the Chinese.’’

I must confess that many cases were not benefitted: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.19.

in the year 1914, the Rockefeller Foundation established the China Medical Board: Chen, Lincoln C. China Medical Board: a century of Rockefeller health philanthropy. Lancet. August 30, 2014.

“Plenty of fresh air was a sine non qua”: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.17.

eggnog and strong beef broth: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.18. Technically speaking, Lowson used the terms “egg flip” and “strong beef tea” rather than “eggnog” and “strong beef broth.” In those days, there wasn’t a distinction between eggnog and an egg flip, so I’ve used the more common modern way of referring to that beverage. Beef tea was something like a beef broth, and it was widely prescribed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

beer, stout, and ice cream: Lowson. The Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in 1894. p.20.

his own Pasteur Institute in the city of Nha Trang: Biography of Alexandre Yersin. Institut Pasteur. Accessed August 17, 2025. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250430111902/https://www.pasteur.fr/en/research-journal/news/alexandre-yersin-man-who-discovered-bacterium-responsible-plague?language=fr

to their surprise, there were exactly zero trials published: Jefferson, Tom, Vittorio Demecheli, and Mark Pratt. Vaccines for preventing plague. Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group. Accessed August 17, 2025. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250211224114/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6532692/