Defence Against the Plague and a Criterion for the Elect of God — Page 6
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 6 merely to natural causes in the land that such bacteria have been born. They believe that these bacteria first lay their adverse effect on rats, ✩ resulting in a chain of death among humans; and that this disease has no relation whatsoever to religion. Instead, it is advisa - ble for people to keep their dwellings and drains clean, free from all sorts of filth and rotten matter, and regularly clean them with phenol and the like. They ought to keep their homes warm with fire, and allow for the cross-ventilation of fresh air, and exposure to sunlight. Further, no dwelling should be overly congested lest exces - sive amounts of bacteria be born from the breath and waste of those who live there. People should not eat unwholesome food. And the best treatment is inoculation. Additionally, if dead rats are found in their homes, such dwellings ought to be abandoned. It is also preferable to reside outside in open areas. Soiled and dirty clothing is to be avoided. Should any person from an affected or contami - nated place come to their town or village, he should not be allowed to enter, and if anyone from such a village or town is infected by the disease, he should be expelled, and should not be permitted to mix with society. So, in their view, these are the only measures that may be employed to counter the plague. Such is the view of the learned doctors and physicians. I do not consider it to be a sufficient and permanent solution, nor do ✩ Footnote: According to the rules of medical practice, identification of the plague requires that in whichever unfortunate village or town or part thereof a dreadful disease breaks out, some days prior to the out - break dead rats should have been found therein. So, for example, if a mere fever leads to a few incidents of death in a village, and dying rats are not observed, then that is not the plague, but some dreadful, ty - phoid-like fever. —Author