Coronavirus
Indians Believe Applying Cow Dung On Their Bodies Cures COVID-19
Doctors in India are warning against the practice of using cow dung in the belief it will ward off COVID-19, saying there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases.
The coronavirus pandemic has wrought devastation on India, with 22.66 million cases and 246,116 deaths reported so far. Experts say actual numbers could be five to 10 times higher, and citizens across the country are struggling to find hospital beds, oxygen, or medicines, leaving many to die for lack of treatment.
In the state of Gujarat in western India, some believers have been going to cow shelters once a week to cover their bodies in cow dung and urine in the hope it will boost their immunity against, or help them recover from, the coronavirus.
In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred symbol of life and the earth, and for centuries Hindus have used cow dung to clean their homes and for prayer rituals, believing it has therapeutic and antiseptic properties.
“We see … even doctors come here. Their belief is that this therapy improves their immunity and they can go and tend to patients with no fear,” said Gautam Manilal Borisa, an associate manager at a pharmaceuticals company, who said the practice helped him recover from COVID-19 last year.
He has since been a regular at the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam, a school run by Hindu monks that lies just across the road from the Indian headquarters of Zydus Cadila (CADI.NS), which is developing its own COVID-19 vaccine.
As participants wait for the dung and urine mixture on their bodies to dry, they hug or honour the cows at the shelter, and practice yoga to boost energy levels. The packs are then washed off with milk or buttermilk.
Doctors and scientists in India and across the world have repeatedly warned against practising alternative treatments for COVID-19, saying they can lead to a false sense of security and complicate health problems.
“There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine work to boost immunity against COVID-19, it is based entirely on belief,” said Dr JA Jayalal, national president at the Indian Medical Association.
“There are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products – other diseases can spread from the animal to humans.”
There are also concerns the practice could contribute to the spread of the virus as it involved people gathering in groups. Madhucharan Das, in charge of another cow shelter in Ahmedabad, said they were limiting the number of participants.
Source: Reuters.
Kenya Insights allows guest blogging, if you want to be published on Kenya’s most authoritative and accurate blog, have an expose, news TIPS, story angles, human interest stories, drop us an email on [email protected] or via Telegram
The President’s Helicopter: How Ruto’s Aviation Empire Lands a Historic Airbus Milestone While His Government Writes the Tax Code
“TikTok Who? YouTube Sorry. A Kenyan-Built Platform Just Dropped—and 20 African Ministers Showed Up To Launch It.”
Denial Under Duress: The Untold Collapse Threatening David Lagat’s DL Group’s Empire
Stung By West Africa Rejections, France Courts Rest Of Continent at Kenya Summit
THE INSURER THAT TOOK YOUR PREMIUM AND FORGOT YOUR NAME: How ICEA Lion Left a Client Begging for Sh7.8 Million Across Four Months
Safaricom’s Sh1.4 Billion Reckoning: How Kenya’s Most Profitable Company Stole a Man’s Idea and Got Caught
Bush Air Safaris Founder John Ndiritu Risks Losing Property Over Disputed Loan Claim
Bia Tosha’s Claim For Injunction Is Designed To Sabotage The Sh300bn Sale of EABL Shares
KDC Accelerates the Creative Economy, Innovation and Youth-Led Enterprise Growth at Africa Forward Summit
Luxury Play for Influence: Inside Kempinski’s High-Stakes Bet on Brazzaville
How Did a Sh468K KRA Salary Allegedly Turn Into Sh30 Billion? Questions Deepen Over Commissioner George Obel and Ciala Resort Owner’s Wealth
Nairobi Freezes Binance Accounts in Sweeping Anti-Fraud Crackdown as Global Scandal Record Haunts World’s Largest Crypto Exchange
The Man Behind the Badge: How Prof. Erastus Kanga Turned Kenya’s Premier Wildlife Agency into a Theatre of Corruption, Fear and Impunity
THE UNTOUCHABLE CLERK: How Fatuma Mwalupa Allegedly Turned Kwale Assembly Into a Personal Treasury and Outsmarted Scrutiny
THE BRAZEN RETURN: Triton Thief Yagnesh Devani, Who Pillaged Kenya of Sh7.6 Billion and Fled, Now Asks the Same Courts He Escaped to Restore His Stolen Wealth
Green Gold, Rotten Roots: How Kenya’s Biggest Avocado Firms Hijacked a Sh5.8 Billion Harvest Ban
TotalEnergies Moves to Sue TikToker for Sh10 Million Over Contaminated Fuel Claim as Kenya’s Petroleum Sector Burns
Kenyan Motorists Stare At Possible Engine Damage And Heavy Losses As Report Confirms Substandard Fuel In Circulation
Why the April 21 Flopped Protests Expose Kenya’s Rudderless Opposition
KETRACO CEO Advert Marred By Controversies As Fears Grow That Kipkemoi Kibias Is A Predetermined Candidate
-
Investigations2 weeks agoHow Did a Sh468K KRA Salary Allegedly Turn Into Sh30 Billion? Questions Deepen Over Commissioner George Obel and Ciala Resort Owner’s Wealth
-
Business2 weeks agoGreen Gold, Rotten Roots: How Kenya’s Biggest Avocado Firms Hijacked a Sh5.8 Billion Harvest Ban
-
Africa1 week agoThe $24 Million Heist at the End of the World
-
Investigations2 weeks agoSerial Scammers Strike Again: How Kelvin ‘Sonko’ Onyango and Seth Steve Okute Built a Gold Fraud Empire on Kenya’s Reputation
-
Investigations2 weeks agoThe Greek Heist: How Inform Lykos Allegedly Robbed Kenyan Taxpayers of Sh650 Million While Printing the Nation’s Exams and Ballots
-
Investigations1 week agoThe Judge, The Disgraced Magistrate, The Auctioneer-Husband, The Fixer And The Lawyer: Anatomy Of A Sh16 Million Judicial Bribery Racket
-
Business5 days agoSafaricom’s Sh1.4 Billion Reckoning: How Kenya’s Most Profitable Company Stole a Man’s Idea and Got Caught
-
Business2 weeks agoFly 748 Returns to Kenya’s Skies With Fresh Push for Affordable Coastal Travel