Indian doctors advise against cow dung as COVID-19 remedy

According to the doctors, there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases.

In the Western state of Gujrat, people have been visiting cow shelters frequently to get their bodies covered with cow dung and urine in a hope that it will boost their immune system and help them recover from 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. They believe that this therapy improves their immunity and they can go and tend to patients with no fear” said an associate manager at a pharmaceuticals company, who said the practice helped him recover from COVID-19 last year.

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.

The WHO said on Monday that the coronavirus variant first identified in India last year was being classified as a variant of global concern, with some preliminary studies showing that it spread more easily.

The COVID-19 has created havoc in India with more than 2 million cases and over 246,116 deaths reported so far. The experts say that the actual number of cases could be 5 to 10 times higher than the official reports as most of the cases go unreported. People are struggling to get access to medical facilities. The lack of beds in hospitals and the scarcity of oxygen cylinders and medicines have left many people to die.

Indian coronavirus infections and deaths held close to record daily highs on Monday, increasing calls for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lock down the world’s second-most populous country.

India recorded 3,29,942 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The country’s total infections stand at over 2.29 crore. Out of these, over 37.15 lakh cases are active while 1.90 crore people have recovered after testing positive. Active cases have declined for the first time in 2 months. With 3,876 new deaths, the toll is now at over 2.49 lakh.