Dr. Mass R. Usuf ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” PhD, MD (Acu), MFHom Kotte

I refer to the Daily Mirror editorial (8th Aug/11) which highlighted quite brazenly the need to put to test alternative medicine as a preventive against the menace of dengue and even as an option for treatment.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Homoeopathy has had much success over the centuries in containing epidemics. During the great influenza pandemic of 1918, The Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, May 1921 reported that out of 24, 000 flu cases treated by orthodox medicine the mortality rate was 28.2% while those treated homoeopathically was only 1.05%. In same manner treatment of Typhus Fever in an 1813 epidemic recorded a mortality of 30% under conventional treatment with 1% under homoeopathy. When Cholera ravaged Europe in 1831 the mortality rate (under conventional treatment) was between 40% – 80% and 9% under homoeopathy and so on and so onƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.. (http://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/some-history-of-the-treatment-of-epidemics-with-homeopathy/).

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Over the last few years many newspaper articles were written about the efficacy of homoeopathy as a dengue preventive (prophylactic) and as an effective therapeutic mode to counter the disease. Not one of my dengue patients entered hospital and all of them were cured without complications and with them being up and about within 24 hours of treatment.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is so incomprehensible as to why the health authorities are turning a blind eye when there is in homoeopathy an effective way to prevent dengue from making thousands ill and hundreds dead! It is so very incomprehensible!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is being rumoured that vested interests find no profit in homoeopathy and thereby continue to ignore this time tested therapeutic mode while thousands suffer and die needlessly. Moreover, how is it that the much touted Presidential Task Force has overlooked Homoeopathy as an effective solution?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Homoeopathic prophylactic is an extremely cheap solution as the prophylactic is so inexpensive that 10,000 people can be treated in under an unbelievable Rs 1000 (one thousand) ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦compared to the tens of millions the government spends on dengue health care.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Moreover, homoeopathic drugs have no side effects and can be administered even to day old infants. As an aside, hospital resources will not be strained as hardly any patient will seek treatment from a hospital once he/she takes the weekly prophylactic till the epidemic abates.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If every school, community centre, place of religious worship etc is used to distribute the homeopathy prophylactic every week till the epidemic wanes people will not fall prey to dengue in the thousands nor would they die of serious complications!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I reiterate, despite many newspaper articles speaking about homoeopathy vis-a-vis dengue it is so incomprehensible as to why the health authorities adopt an indifferent attitude! Dr. Imthiaz Latiff in conjunction with the Colombo Municipal Council conducted a few camps with success. But how much can one man do?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We need the assistance of the Homoeopathic hospital in Welisara – where anti-dengue drugs and globules are available aplenty – to plan an island wide campaign. The Ministry Of Indigenous Medicine and the Homoeopathic Medical Council overseeing affairs of homoeopathy must give a directive to initiate such a campaign.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ All it needs is the distribution of packed medicated globules to centres in affected areas. Local body officials can then organise a weekly distribution program using schools, community centres, places of religious worship etc. This way thousands need not suffer and hundreds need not die!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is indeed mystifying as to why the Ministry Of Indigenous Medicine and the Homoeopathic Medical Council have for the last so many years not taken any action when it is known to them throughout that a dengue prophylactic is available with them?

Here lies a cheap drug that can prevent and cure and the authorities ignore it while over the years thousands suffer and hundreds die – mystifying indeed!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I will not be surprised if this article too is ignored by the authorities as just another ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”hot airƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ letter to the Editor while the mosquito keeps claiming lives every year!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dr. Mass R. Usuf ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” PhD, MD (Acu), MFHom

Kotte

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ps: Anybody interested in having the prophylactic please email me – drusuf@eureka.lk

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