NEW DELHI: The government, through the ministry of Ayush on Wednesday released a statement that, among other things, has listed out Unani and Homeopathy medicines that can work against Coronavirus, which experts have termed “irresponsible, misleading, dangerous to the public health and against medical ethics.”
At the instance of ministry of Ayush, the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) discussed the ways and means of prevention of Coronavirus infection through Homoeopathy in 64th meeting of its Scientific Advisory Board on 28th January 2020.
And, an official statement issued by PIB on behalf of the ministry, reads: “The Group of Experts inter-alia has recommended that Homoeopathic medicine Arsenicum album30 could be taken as prophylactic medicine against Coronavirus infections, which has also been advised for prevention of ILI. It has recommended one dose of Arsenicum album 30, daily in empty stomach for three days.”
The dose, the statement adds, should be repeated after one month by following the same schedule in case Coronavirus infections prevail in the community.
It also lists 10 Unani medicines — SharbatUnnab; TiryaqArba; TiryaqNazla; KhamiraMarwareed; RoghanBaboona/Roghan Mom/Kafoori Balm; RoghanBanafsha; ArqAjeeb; Habb e IkseerBukhar; SharbatNazla and Qurs e Suaal — “useful in symptomatic management of Coronavirus infection.” It even prescribe the doses for these medicines and the methods to use them.
One researcher who has done path breaking research on viruses, and is also doing research on Coronavirus, said: “I am not sure what data they have given that the virus is so new and we dont have enough to understand how it behaves, but the general practice before advising any medication for a new virus is to validate it. If that has not been done, then we should not advise anything.”
Reacting to this, the Breakthrough Science Society (BSS) on Thursday said it was shocked and anguished that the government released a statement recommending public to use of untested Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and Unani medicines.
Even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has only advised the public to stick to basic preventive measures like avoiding contact with people suffering from cold, washing hands, staying away from crowded places, farm or wild animals etc.
“A homeopathic drug namely Arsenicum album30, or Unani medicines like Sharbat Unnab or Ayurvedic preparations like Shadang Paniya are advised to be taken either as preventive medicines or for symptomatic management against Coronavirus infections. But there are no supporting evidence that these medicines are effective against the virus,” BSS said in a statement shared with TOI.
Asking how these drugs were even relevant in the fight against novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov), which is itself a new organism, BSS said: “In the absence of proper stuRead More – Source
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