Homeopaths on Ebola mission rejected by UN officials in Liberia
Could homeopathy have contained the Ebola crisis?
A team of four doctors travelled to Liberia to test out potential homeopathic cures to contain the spread of the Ebola virus. Earlier in the year, during Ebola crisis talks, the UN had called for CAM {Complementary and Alternative Medicine} practitioners to work with conventional medicine to tackle the deadly virus. However upon arriving in Liberia, the team of doctors were refused permission to carry out their work by UN officials.
Dr Ortrud Lindemann, Dr Medha Durge, Dr Richard Hiltner and Dr Edouard Broussalian took part in the expedition which was organised by the Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis {LMHI}. The team presented their mission several months ago and had been officially invited to the Ganta hospital, Liberia, to help with the treatment of Ebola patients, yet when they arrived they were told not to go near Ebola patients. Whilst in Ganta hospital, they were however able treat other non-Ebola patients using homeopathy.
Homeopathy is a system in which ailments are treated by minute doses of natural substances that in larger amounts would produce symptoms of the ailment. Homeopathic remedies can be produced quickly in large quantities and are cheap, easily distributed and safe. Two of the potential remedies the team had been preparing to try out were rattlesnake venom and the Spanish fly aphrodisiac.
Dr Richard Hiltner has over 39 years medical experience and has been President of the California Homeopathic Medical Society for 15 years, he told the Mail Online:
“I’ve used homeopathy for 40 years and there’s a lot of research into various epidemics including Yellow Fever, which is similar to Ebola in symptoms. When we went to do this we had some of the very best international homeopathy physicians who we consulted and worked with for many months beforehand. We looked at which remedies would fit the pattern to cure, we had some good ideas about what medicine works and what would be beneficial.”
“This method (homeopathy) could have and should have been used a lot earlier but unfortunately it hasn’t worked out like that. There are various things that could have been done right away while they were trying to develop immunisations.”
Despite the team being prevented from treating Ebola patients the LMHI does not view the mission as a failure. “While awaiting decisions from the Health Ministry, the team treated very severe non-EVD patients. Both hospital and clinic out-patients were seen and treated, with impressive results. The results were so promising that the LMHI were requested on departure to establish a program of homeopathic teaching and treatment in the hospital. The mission’s broader goal of bringing homeopathy to Liberia is therefore underway.” – LMHI West Africa Update
