ENCEPHALITIS OUTBREAK IN U.P. Homoeopathy, fish to combat virus

Having virtually failed to tackle encephalitis through vaccines and medicines, the Uttar Pradesh government is toying with the idea of trying out homoeopathy as a preventive drug and promoting the breeding of the Gambusia fish that preys on mosquito larvae.

According to official sources, Mr Ravindra Naik, divisional commissioner of Gorakhpur, which is worsthit by the outbreak of encephalitis every year, has sent a detailed proposal to the government suggesting

Official cites the effectiveness of homoeopathic medicines in encephalitisaffected districts of Andhra Pradesh

homoeopathic treatment for the Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).

Mr Naik informed the government that he has learnt of the effectiveness of homoeopathic medicines in some AES-affected districts of Andhra Pradesh.

“The homoeopathic medicines have been used to prevent AES in its initial stages. We plan to take it up intensively by launching a door-to-door campaign, just like it was done in the polio immunisation drive,” the divisional commissioner told the state government.

A detailed study of the strains and conditions of the AES in the Gorakhpur division has also been done by homoeopathic doctors who have recommended that the disease could be tackled by ‘slow induction’ of homoeopathic medicines. The homoeopathy doctors claim that it could be used successfully in prevention of AES in a big way, if not in combating the disease post-contraction.

The Japanese Encephalitis (JE) had claimed more than 600 lives in Gorakhpur in 2011 and the vaccines imported to combat the virus proved ineffective due to breakages in the cold chain. In a related development, the National Rural Health Mission has sanctioned `39 lakh to buy ‘seeds’ of the Gambusia fish that preys on mosquito larvae. The JE spreads through mosquitoes.