Thousands thronged a temple in Hettimulla, a village in Kegalle, this week with the hope of getting a herbal concoction which promises ‘life-long’ immunity to Covid-19. Defying quarantine laws (this was later criticised by the health authorities), people from all across the island stood in long queues for hours before the police had to intervene and disperse the crowd.
Champika from Ratnapura was one of the people who came to Kegalle that day. She had seen a Facebook post that said thousands of bottles of the miracle cure will be given free by Dhammika Bandara, the traditional medicine practitioner (Deshiya Waidya) who created it.
“This medicine is going to keep my family safe from this sickness. All of us are very scared. I don’t want my children to get Covid-19,” Champika said.
She and many others had to go back home without their portion of the ‘cure’ after its distribution was called off temporarily till further guidelines were issued by the health authorities.
The Kegalle District Secretary Mahinda S. Weerasooriya said the decision was made after consulting the District Health Director, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, the Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary and the wedamahaththaya.
Those who managed to get their samples published photographs of it on social media, and those who didn’t get the sample commented on these posts saying that they wished they had got the ‘cure’ too.
The Health Ministry has undertaken the task of carrying out scientific research into the medicine and will publicise its effectiveness based on the results. An Expert Committee was appointed for this purpose.
A cure like no other?
Co-Cabinet spokesman Ramesh Pathirana said on Tuesday (8) that the Government is confident about anti-Covid-19 traditional medicines.
He said, “There is a discussion in society about the medicine provided as a local Ayurvedic product in Sri Lanka. We are happy to say that the Government is considering this positively.
“Western medicine usually prescribes such drugs only after they have been tested and confirmed. Western physicians have agreed to prescribe the drug as a short-term response. The vaccine has been shown to be effective. We hope that the world and our country will get rid of this crisis in the next three to six months.”
Bandara’s ‘cure’ was also embraced by many.
Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, early this month, took a sip of it publicly. Several other members of Parliament followed suit during the past few days.
Bandara expressed confidence in his creation made of two key ingredients including bee’s honey and nutmeg. He said if a person consumes it that person would get life-long immunity to Covid-19. He also said that the consumers will not suffer from any side effects.
“Take me anywhere and give me any punishment (if a person suffered from such side effects). I humbly say that no one will get any side effects after drinking this medicine,” he said during a television interview.
State Minister of Indigenous Medicine, Rural and Ayurveda Hospital Development and Community Health, Sisira Jayakody, speaking about the ‘cure’ in Parliament said that it was tested in a hospital setting.
Several indigenous medicines
In Parliament, Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa urged people to look into the medicine than the person who made the medicine. The latter, according to the Minister, was irrelevant.
He said, “If he (Bandara) says that Kali Maniyo told him about the medicine and if the medicine is working then we have to accept it.” He told Parliament that the University of Rajarata was testing Bandara’s concoction and the results will be released today (13).
Earlier, State Minister Jayakody said the Government has developed several drugs in the hope of of curing Covid-19 patients, and stop people from contracting the virus in the future.
The Department of Ayurveda and the Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation also introduced a drink and powder, made of herbs and spices, which boost immunity of Covid-19 patients. The Minister also expressed confidence of producing local herbal products that will help to control the virus.
Commissioner of Ayurveda, Department of Ayurveda, K. D. C. S. Kumarathunge said there is no ‘exact cure’ for Covid-19 yet.
“Because there is no Western medication in the country for Covid-19, people are coming to Ayurvedic hospitals,” he said.
The Ayurveda Department has introduced several medicines that were tested on patients at hospitals in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces. According to Kumarathunge, Covid-19 symptoms of these patients disappeared in several days and the PCR tests were negative when it was done ten days after the detection. The Department is conducting further trials at the Welikada prison these days.
Kumarathunge stressed the importance of testing any medicine before giving them to the public because they could have adverse effects on a person’s life.
“There are many people who claim to be doctors introducing different medications. People are misled by these people. We should make sure that this does not happen,” he said.
Lack of scientific evidence
Several medical practitioners have voiced their distrust in the indigenous medicines that are sold claiming to be Covid-19 cures.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA)’s spokesman Dr. Samantha Ananda said that the best remedy for Covid-19 is naturally boosting immunity to the virus by eating healthy, exercising, and resting.“The new traditional medicine came into the limelight with limited scientific evidence. Proper protocols were not followed as they do on Western vaccines. So, we do not have a scientific answer to if this works or not,” he said.
He also expressed concern of thousands gathering in one place, which creates a space for the virus to spread easily. The GMOA also wrote to the Government urging immediate intervention to the stop the free distribution of the ‘cure’ by Bandara on Tuesday (8).
Superstitions and cures
“People like certainty. Before the pandemic people were fairly confident about their futures, but Covid-19 has taken that away from them,” Dr. Amila Isuru, senior lecturer in psychiatry at the University of Rajarata, and consultant psychiatrist at the Teaching Hospital in Anuradhapura said. He said during such times people get stressed.
“With Covid-19 people have lost their jobs, education is affected and even relationships are strained, and this brings a huge amount of anxiety that cannot be handled,” he said.
This is when people look for external means to find a ray of hope. Therefore, an anti-Covid 19 concoction and another superstitious cure could prosper, because it gives that sense of certainty to people. When people conform with these superstitious rituals, they feel that they have some sort of control and it relieves the immense stress stemming from uncertainty.
The other aspect that comes into play, Dr. Amila said, is the question ‘why has this happened to me?’.
“In reality there is no explanation for this. This ‘why’ factor is something we all battle with. So, people tend to do various things to eliminate this feeling too,” he explained.
He also said that people, especially in Asian countries, tend to conform to the ideas spread by the authorities with being critically analytical. “People have the right to believe in what they want. But the media should act more responsibly when promoting cures, especially ones that are not scientifically proven,” he said.