Scientific community in the State and the Indian Medical Association have slammed the Health Minister for openly endorsing the efficacy claims of a homoeopathy drug, Arsenicum album 30c, against COVID-19, which have never been scientifically validated.
The drug, promoted by the Ministry of Ayush as an “immunity booster” is being widely distributed across the State for free by the Homoeopathy Department.
However, what has now got the goat of doctors and public health experts alike is a video, which is being widely circulated on the social media, wherein Health Minister K.K. Shylaja is seen endorsing the drug’s efficacy against COVID-19. Ms. Shylaja says in the video that even amongst those testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, those who had consumed the drug had tested negative within 3 or 4 days. She says that the drug’s efficacy is proven through a study done in Pathanamthitta.
“The Minister is contradicting the very COVID-19 treatment protocols that the Health Department is following. In Kerala, a COVID-19 patient undergoing treatment is re-tested only on the 10th day because the infective period is 8-10 days. Even if a patient actually tests negative on third or fourth day, we do not consider it as a true negative,” a public-health expert points out.
False sense of security
“The inherent problem in promoting drug efficacy claims which are not scientifically validated is that it lulls people into a false sense of security. People will go lax on precautions like wearing masks and physical distancing, thinking that they are protected by the drug,” says U. Nandakumar, who heads Campaign Against Pseudo Science Using Law and Ethics (CAPSULE).
“Homoeopaths say that in Pathanamthitta, this drug was widely distributed. However, Pathanamthitta has a disease transmission rate (as on Aug 31) higher than that of the entire State,” he says.
“The so-called Pathanamthitta study’s efficacy claim of the drug is on the basis of the blood lymphocyte count done before and after the administration of the drug in just 16 persons. Apart from the fact that the sample size is insignificant, even the “boost” in lymphocyte count is not a test of efficacy because lymphocyte counts normally fluctuates by 10-20 % throughout the day,” says Dr. Nandakumar.
Public health experts V. Ramankutty and K.P. Aravindan, who have critiqued the said study, point out that efficacy could be assessed only if there was a case and control group (two comparable groups of persons wherein one group has consumed the drug and the other have not).
Biggest folly
“The data generated from this “study,” which does not adhere to even the basic principles of research methodology, is beyond belief. But the biggest folly of this study is the premise that an increase in lymphocyte and CD4, CD8, CD3 cell count is indicative of a boost in immunity, for which there is no scientific basis,” they said
The homoeopaths have responded that modern medicine’s platform cannot be used to assess homoeopathy. But even when every branch of alternative medicine can develop its own research methodology for validating claims, it should be able to stand scientific scrutiny, it is pointed out.
