Doctors in India warn against using cow dung and urine to ward off COVID-19, amid the rise in deadly ‘black fungus‘ desease.
Hospitals in India have reported a surge in “black fungus” found in COVID-19 patients.
Doctors, therefore, are warning people against the practice of using cow dung or urine in the belief it will boost their immunity against the Covid-19 or cure them from the virus.
Some Hindus believe cows and anything they produce is sacred and purifying.
In the state of Gujarat, which said to have recorded cases of mucormycosis. Some people go to cow shelters once a week and cover their bodies in cow dung and drink cow urine in the hope it will boost their immunity or help them recover from the disease, according to Reuters report.
“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 J. A. Jayalal, national president at the Indian Medical Association was quoted as saying.
Indian authorities have not published national data on mucormycosis but insist there is no major outbreak, the media report.
Currently, India has the world’s highest daily average number of new COVID deaths. Nearly 23 million coronavirus infections have been recorded in the country, with almost 250,000 deaths.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the COVID variant first identified in India last year is being classified as a variant of global concern.
