Ebola Prevention
10/23/2014
An herbalist buddy of mine contacted me last week to see what my herbal recommendations were for Ebola, knowing my husband is a public health guy. Well, the NIH (National Institutes of Health) came out last month with a very strong statement saying herbs and alternative therapies were absolutely not useful in treating Ebola. This was rather insulting to the "alternative" therapy community, but I believe the statement was made out of the concern that people would forego proper medical supportive treatment trusting only to these alternative therapies. That is the difference between “complementary” and “alternative” therapies—in complementary or integrative medicine all effective therapies can be used to work together. Personally, if I were to come close to an area of ebola outbreak, I would be doing everything I could to boost my immunity, support general health and preventative care, stress management, hygiene, whatever treatments the doctors offer and prayer! Some herbs have direct anti-viral effects, others help the body to combat disease on its own. I imagine people are willing to try anything and everything at that point. As long as it is not harmful or weakening the body's defenses, why not give it a try?
There are a lot of questions in the media about Ebola infections as well as concerns about animal reservoirs. I’m sure there will be more information to follow, but for now, here is a link to the CDC info page: Ebola and pets The short of it: “At this time, there have been no reports of dogs or cats becoming sick with Ebola or of being able to spread Ebola to people or animals.”
My husband, Radford, has a nice blog on Ebola—origins and prevention through food. One of the biggest reasons for the current outbreak are poverty and malnutrition and the eating of infected "bushmeat". Don't eat infected bushmeat.
And hey, we just got the first Heifer International holiday catalog. No time like the present to send food to Africa. Some of the photos that Radford took in Sierra Leone are of families with their Heifer goats.
There are a lot of questions in the media about Ebola infections as well as concerns about animal reservoirs. I’m sure there will be more information to follow, but for now, here is a link to the CDC info page: Ebola and pets The short of it: “At this time, there have been no reports of dogs or cats becoming sick with Ebola or of being able to spread Ebola to people or animals.”
My husband, Radford, has a nice blog on Ebola—origins and prevention through food. One of the biggest reasons for the current outbreak are poverty and malnutrition and the eating of infected "bushmeat". Don't eat infected bushmeat.
And hey, we just got the first Heifer International holiday catalog. No time like the present to send food to Africa. Some of the photos that Radford took in Sierra Leone are of families with their Heifer goats.