Unverified claims can mislead the public
Ọọ̀ni Adéyẹyẹ̀ Ẹniìtàn Ògúnwùsì, Ọ̀jájá II published a video on March 30, 2020 via Twitter promoting traditional Chinese medicine to cure coronavirus.
Watch Global Voices’ special coverage of the global impact of COVID-19.
The novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, is shaking the world like a major earthquake.
According to John Hopkins University, the coronavirus has already been transmitted. 900,000 People all over the world. As of April 1, 2020, the number of infected people in Nigeria is 174.
As researchers and scientists work hard to create a vaccine that could be a cure-all for the pandemic, traditional herbalists have also come up with solutions.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba king, Àdìmúlà Ifẹ̀, Ọọ̀ni Adéyẹyẹ̀ Ẹniìtàn Ògúnwùsì, Ọ̀jájá II, believes that natural herbs can treat the coronavirus infection.
In partnership with YemKem International, an alternative medicine company, Ọọ̀ni (Wang) is working to develop herbal remedies that can be mass-produced and packaged for sale.
This concoction is based on a mixture of bitter leaves, Indian neem leaves and seeds, sulfur, black pepper and cloves, which are traditionally used in Yorubaland as powerful antioxidants to flush the body of harmful viruses. .
Ọọ̀ni, who is also co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), said on Twitter: series of tweets Presenting his discoveries and claiming his unique herbal mix was being tested About yourself and others infected with coronavirus. In a March 30 tweet, Ọọ̀ni called on researchers to use natural herbs to produce vaccines.
I am also currently working with alternative medicine specialist Yem Kem International (Alternative Medicine Specialists) Pharmaceutical Company on the packaging and global distribution of these products.
It’s time to save the world. Tomorrow may be too late.Let’s all stay safe.#coronavirus #COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection)
— Ọọ̀ni Ẹniìtàn Ògúnwùsì (@OoniAdimulaIfe) March 30, 2020
The content of the tweet is 2 videos It contains detailed instructions on herbal home remedies, such as the use of onions to extract viral infections and the use of incense to expel “negative energy.”
Traditional beliefs and scientific processes
Traditional Chinese medicine plays an important role in Yoruba culture.
June every year — beginning of the year new calendar year In Yorubaland, followers of the God of Wisdom (Ifa) in Yoruba cosmology gather at this festival of Òkè Ìtasẹ̀, where Ifa speaks and foretells the future.
On June 6, 2019, at the World Ifa Festival, Ifa’s Otula Meji predicted the “imminent fury of an invisible pandemic war.”This prediction is currently believed it You could get COVID-19.
Last year on June 6, 2019, during the World Ifa Festival – Otula Meji, a divine proclamation was issued to the world. We foretold the impending fury of this invisible pandemic war, but few listened.
Note that the Ephod/Urim and Turim are mentioned in scripture.
— Ọọ̀ni Ẹniìtàn Ògúnwùsì (@OoniAdimulaIfe) March 30, 2020
The World Health Organization (WHO) supports traditional medicine as part of primary health care and breaking news On the ethical analysis of Chinese herbal medicine for global health.
However, the WHO also revealed that there is no known treatment or vaccine for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Claims about herbal remedies that have not been verified through careful scientific research can be misleading to the public.
Dr. Oluwatomide Adeoye, Home Based Drug Development Scientist lisbon, portugalrefutes the King’s natural herbal remedies treatment for coronavirus.
In an email to Global Voices, Dr. Adeoye wrote:
That can’t happen [the Ọọ̀ni] We now know for sure that his “medicine” (concoction) can treat the coronavirus. A suitable protocol for testing such drugs is to (i) isolate the virus and, if effective, test the drug in a “Petri dish”; (ii) test it in animals (models) and finally and (iii) human testing (safety and efficacy). .
Pharmacologists assert:
Even if we assume that they proceed directly to human trials, there is no evidence that Ọọ̀ni had test kits to diagnose COVID-19 infection to evaluate the clinical efficacy of the purported treatment.
In his email, Dr. Adeowa also debunks some misconceptions about the traditional remedies promoted by the King in the video.
For example, the king claim it’s an onion Kills negative energy and inhabits positive energy. Placing sliced onions under your feet neutralizes and suppresses viruses and strengthens your immune system.
Dr. Adeowa says the academic papers supporting these onion claims are “often scientifically deficient” in terms of experimental design, control, and robustness of the data. It states that “over 90 percent of such claims fail tests of efficacy and safety in human clinical trials.”
Even assuming that onions are an effective virus neutralizer, if they don’t get into the body or into the lungs (at the right dose/concentration), how can they work and be effective? there is no.
Dr Adeowa also rejected the Crown’s claims that: burn incense It’s effective.
Given the breathing difficulties observed in patients with COVID-19, it would be extremely foolish to reduce air quality (oxygen) in people with compromised lung function.
Although incense burning is a big part of Nigeria’s popular culture, incense itself is “not an effective disinfectant,” Dr. Adeoye told Global Voices.
Commenting on the public health implications of the king’s claims, Dr. Adeowa noted that “those who sell their snake oil as a coronavirus treatment… will only cause more deaths.”
Dr. Adeoye It also warned that herbal preparations “present a risk of acute and chronic toxicity.”
