What happens if there's an outbreak of a pokemon-to-human transmissible disease in your region?
Well! Allow me to say first off that many regions have excellent healthcare systems, but admittedly, no one can be equipped for everything, especially if it’s a new disease and/or one with very little research on it to boot. Still, this isn’t a cause for panic, as generally speaking, regions will respond rather quickly to new outbreaks, especially given all of our cultures’ emphasis on traveling across the land to befriend pokémon.
That said, speaking as someone quite used to health scares in major cities (ah, the many, many outbreaks in Goldenrod…), a few tips:
Preventative/Preparation:
Wash your hands. Twenty seconds, whenever possible, and don’t forget about between your fingers and under your fingernails. They say you should sing “Happy Birthday” to count the seconds, but you know what also works? Rockrolling yourself. I’m serious.
…actually, I’m going to need a read more. Lanette, can we get a read more in here?
Preventative/Preparation:
Wash your hands whenever you touch something in a public area. You don’t need to disinfect everything; that’s going a bit overboard. But at least wash.
If you don’t have access to a sink and soap, always carry hand sanitizer. I know they say overuse of hand sanitizer will lead to superbugs, but you don’t need to overuse it. Just use it whenever you’re about to eat, touch your face for any reason, or handle anything particularly dirty. (Use a tissue to help wipe off any dirt, incidentally.)
Don’t touch your face, especially if you haven’t washed your hands. This increases your risk of infection.
Try to avoid crowded areas, especially (quite obviously) the places that are known to have been hit with an outbreak. If this isn’t possible, follow the above steps.
If you can vaccinate for it … vaccinate for it. If you can’t for health reasons, that’s fine, and you’re excused. You’re not excused if you’re refusing to get the measles vaccine for moral reasons. Stop that. Get vaccinated. (Side point: Being unable to afford the vaccine is also a potentially decent excuse in certain regions, but try asking your doctor or pharmacist for discounts or financial solutions. Getting the vaccine is better than getting sick and missing work anyway.)
Never overbuy supplies. Chances are good you’ll survive falling ill without much problem, so your aim is to have enough supplies in your cupboard to survive an isolation period. (Two weeks, for example.) Even then, start early and buy gradually. You don’t need to clean off entire store shelves, and in fact, by doing that, you incite more panic. Especially do not do this with medical supplies. People may actually need those.
Masks rarely help because many people who wear them don’t understand how to wear them. (Yes, there’s a right way and many, many wrong ways, even if they look simple and straightforward to use.) In fact, wearing them increases your risk of infection because you’ll likely unconsciously touch your face in an attempt to readjust the mask throughout the day. Only wear a mask if you’re actually sick or showing symptoms and need to leave isolation to get somewhere (such as a medical facility). The same goes for gloves.
What you do need: A small cache of basic medical supplies (in other words: a first aid kit and basic cold medications—enough to, again, cover a week of isolation), your prescriptions, canned soup or food (for cooking if you’re not up for a full meal), dried beans and rice (work just as well as canned soup—especially if added to chicken broth), a box of disinfectant wipes. Again, you’re not surviving a zombie apocalypse; you’re surviving a couple of weeks indoors, at most.
Always, always, always understand the disease involved in the outbreak. Do your research, and be wary of the media. The media will always isolate numbers and make things seem worse than they are, as they’re reliant on viewer numbers in order to keep themselves afloat. Instead, understand that most diseases that spread readily also come with low mortality rates, and those that die from a disease are typically the elderly, the very young (note: not in all cases—some diseases carry a higher survival rate for children than others), those who are immunosuppressed or -compromised (such as those undergoing chemotherapy or with certain medical conditions), those with underlying health issues related to the organs the disease targets, or medical professionals who undergo repeated exposures. And even then, many of these people survive. It’s all because diseases are caused by what are essentially parasitic lifeforms; viruses, bacteria—the whole works—they all need your body in order to reproduce. As such, they’re not designed to kill you, although they will likely make you suffer. In any case, the media will never tell you this and always lead you to believe that you will die from the disease in question, when in reality, it’s more like this will only happen if you’re two steps away from death’s door as it is.
Actually highly dangerous diseases with high mortality rates, meanwhile, tend to spread slowly, as the rules regarding how to transmit them tend to be very strict and very specific. The E-32 outbreak a few years ago, for example, did not turn into a full-on pandemic because in order to be infected with that particular pathogen, you needed to come into full, direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, to put things delicately. The flu, meanwhile, is far more transmittable, as it passes from person to person via airborne droplets (read: moisture from a sneeze or cough, distributed through the air) from an infected individual. On the other hand, the flu carries a lower mortality rate than E-32 as a trade-off for being able to do that. So again, very likely, you’ll be in contact with a disease that isn’t quite as deadly as media will have you believe, unless you happen to be traveling to a country that’s not as well-equipped to handle medically-induced state of emergencies.
Also, let’s talk about stats—namely, always mentally put things into perspective and gather all the evidence before falling victim to a badly written headline. A disease that’s spread to 95000 people may seem overwhelming until you realize they’re talking about 95000 people out of over 7 billion in the world. Likewise, 3100 dead might seem like a high death toll until you realize that’s out of 95000. Ten dead out of 100 might seem pretty high until you ask yourself who those 10 and 100 might be; if you’re looking at ten elderly people, then this statistic seems less alarming and more tragic yet understandable. Incidentally, this is true with all headlines. Headlines will tell you that a doctor’s been infected but then bury the fact that he took steps to minimize the number of people he’s exposed deep in an article. Media thrives on panic, and panic is the last thing you should participate in. Panic causes people to congregate at medical facilities, grocery stores, and other public areas, leading to not only supply shortages but also mass confusion and—more importantly—a heightened risk of infection. Instead, read carefully, try to educate others, and take reasonable steps to protect yourself, your pokémon, and those around you.
That said, Pokémon. Not to advertise, but the PC is perhaps the safest place for pokémon during an outbreak, as once converted fully into data, poké ball and all, they can neither transmit diseases nor be exposed to them. On the other hand, never feel as if you have to keep your team in the PC at all times. On the contrary, do your research and make your own judgment calls. Remember that not every disease will affect every pokémon. (Geodude can’t catch avian flu, for example, but torchic certainly can and will likely die from it at that.) Furthermore, sometimes, a poké ball is enough protection. Finally, if the outbreak hasn’t reached your area, it’s altogether unnecessary to box your beloved partners.
If you exhibit symptoms that align with those of the disease at hand (flu-like symptoms, for example), try to seek out medical attention. (Note: This means calling a medical provider and following their advice on subsequent steps.) I realize this isn’t always viable advice in every region (Unova), but seeking out medical attention and taking steps to take care of yourself is far better than exacerbating your condition by ignoring your symptoms. Reporting your illness also helps general public health by allowing the medical system to keep track of how many cases there are and where the disease may have been.
Likewise if your pokémon start exhibiting symptoms. Especially if they’re battle-ready pokémon (and thus have a higher rate of spreading disease to other pokémon than those kept as pets).
If you’re on a journey at the time and notice flu-like symptoms, go to a clinic for humans. Do not go to a pokémon center. This risks spreading the disease to other traveling trainers. (Note: Human clinics are free for trainers as well, and their staff members are often among the first to be trained in handling infectious diseases.)
If doing any of the above three things, if we’re talking about an outbreak of a severe disease of sorts, call ahead before you go. Do not simply show up to one of these facilities and state you have symptoms. Calling ahead allows medical teams to prepare to receive you, thus minimizing the potential of spreading the disease. Do this even if you’re not sure if you or your pokémon have the disease, and yes, do this even if talking on a phone is difficult for you. Believe me; medical staff will not judge you. You are likely going to be the patient worth the least amount of judgment.
If you’re not required to be in isolation, yes, wear a mask, but also, always cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze. Preferably, do so into a disposable tissue and dispose of the tissue immediately afterwards. Never simply cough into the air. (Basic etiquette, I know, but you’ll be surprised how often people don’t do this.)
Hydrate yourself as much as possible, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Your body needs as many fluids as possible to combat every illness.
When handling a sick pokémon, always wash your hands before doing anything else, and never, ever touch your face before doing so. You may also wish to wear a mask in this case.
Furthermore, never violate a Nurse Joy’s orders for isolation. If your pokémon needs to be isolated, isolate it, no matter how bad you feel. Additionally, do not use that pokémon to battle, and limit its interactions with the rest of your team (unless you know the disease can’t spread to their species). On the positive side, pokémon tend to recover quicker than humans from illness (in a matter of days, as opposed to a week or more), so as long as you follow the protocols for proper care of a sick pokémon, it should be fine.
Remember that pokémon need rest and hydration when they’re sick just as much as humans do. Also remember that you need rest and hydration if you’re sick. And of course, try to avoid letting your pokémon care for you while you’re sick. It may be a nice gesture, but it places them at risk, especially if they can be affected by the disease.
Most of all, don’t worry. You may be miserable, but diseases will generally pass. As I’ve said earlier, most infectious diseases you hear about, unless you’re traveling through a developing region (particularly one in the tropics), actually have a lower mortality rate than the media will have you believe. Take care of yourselves and above all else…
Wash your hands. Seriously.
