Indian doctors are warning against the use of cow dung to cure the coronavirus disease or COVID-19.
Doctors say there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases.
Some 22.6 million people were infected hy COVID-19 in India, over 246,000 died due to the virus.
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The country is seeing a deadly and catastrophic second wave of infections with overwhelmed healthcare system and people dying in record breaking numbers.
The warning came as some believers in Western India have been going to cow shelters once a week to cover their bodies in cow dung and urine in the hope it will boost their immunity against, or help them recover from, the coronavirus.
The cow is a sacred religious symbol in Hinduism.
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. Their belief is that this therapy improves their immunity and they can go and tend to patients with no fear,” Gautam Manilal Borisa said in a Reuters report.
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Participants wait for the dung and urine mixture on their bodies to dry, they hug or honour the cows at the shelter, and practice yoga to boost energy levels.
“There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine work to boost immunity against COVID-19, it is based entirely on belief,” Dr JA Jayalal of the Indian Medical Association said.
“There are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products – other diseases can spread from the animal to humans,” he added. (TDT)
