US News

Indian doctors warn against using cow poop as COVID cure

As COVID-19 ravages India, some have taken to rubbing cow feces and urine on their bodies as a way to fight the virus.

Doctors are warning against the practice, saying there’s no proof it boosts immunity or helps treat COVID.

“There are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products — other diseases can spread from the animals to humans,” Dr. J.A. Jayalal, national president of the Indian Medical Association, told Reuters.

In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred symbol of life and earth.

Some residents of Gujarat in the western part of the country have been visiting cow shelters to rub the excrement on their bodies, then hug or honor the cows while the mixture dries.

When it does, it’s washed off with milk or buttermilk.

People pray after applying cow dung on their bodies during "cow dung therapy", believing it will boost their immunity to defend against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
People pray after applying cow dung on their bodies during “cow dung therapy,” believing it will boost their immunity to COVID-19 on May 9, 2021.REUTERS/Amit Dave

India has been hit with more than 22 million cases of the coronavirus and over 246,000 deaths, although experts say the numbers could be much higher. Parts of the country have struggled to keep up with the demand for hospital space, oxygen and PPE supplies.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the country needs to build up the equivalent of field hospitals and work with other countries to ramp up vaccine production and distribution.

applies cow dung on his body during "cow dung therapy",
A boy applies cow dung on his body during “cow dung therapy” at a cow shelter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, on May 9, 2021. REUTERS/Amit Dave

Those efforts may only work if Indian officials look at government shutdowns as an option to slow the spread, Fauci said during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

“You need to break the chain of transmission and one of the ways to do that is to shut down,” he said.

With Post wires