Homeopathic medicine tested on 2.3 million Cubans appears to be effective in controlling Leptospirosis epidemic
Leptospirosis is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by exposure to contaminated water. During a 2007 epidemic in Cuba, a homeopathic medicine was given to 2.3 million people at high risk of infection, while the remaining 8.8 million population were untreated. In this study by Brach et al Bracho G et al. Large-scale application of highly-diluted bacteria for Leptospirosis epidemic control. Homeopathy, 2010; 99: 156-166, the largest-ever research study assessing a homeopathic medicine, the homeopathic treatment was “strongly associated with a drastic reduction of disease incidence resulting in complete control of the epidemic.”
| Results of Cuban study Total population 11 million | Rates of infection in 2007 epidemic | Rates of infection in 2008 epidemic (compared with 2007) |
| Untreated provinces (population 8.8 million) | As predicted | Increase of 22% |
| Provinces given homeopathic treatment (population 2.3 million) | Significantly lower than predicted + epidemic “completely controlled” | Decrease of 84% |
These results suggest Homeoprophylaxis as a ‘feasible tool for epidemic control’ and the authors call for further research.
- Brach et al Bracho G et al. Large-scale application of highly-diluted bacteria for Leptospirosis epidemic control. Homeopathy, 2010; 99: 156-166
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=20674839
Cuba monitors levels of Leptospirosis infection carefully and rates of disease are known to peaks during periods of heavy rainfall and flooding. In 2007 a serious epidemic began to develop in three provinces and the risk of disease was further increased by wide-spread flooding. The government was faced with the emergency situation of having only 15,000 doses of vaccine available for 2.3 million people living in high-risk areas.
Due to the extreme circumstances, the novel approach of homeoprophylaxis (HP) was attempted. A homeopathic medicine made from inactivated Leptospirosis bacteria was given to 2.3 million people at high-risk, while the remaining 8.8 million members of the population were untreated.
Within weeks of the HP intervention being given, a dramatic decrease was seen in the number of confirmed cases, from 38 to 4-6 cases per week*. The projected incidence for this period had been 111-461 cases per week, representing a decrease of between 91.8 and 65.8%. This drop occurred at the point when HP treatment had been received by 70% of the population.
The HP preparation ‘nosoLep’ was manufactured using four inactivated strains of Leptospirosis-causing bacteria. The treatment regime involved two oral doses of nosoLEP 200c given 7-9 days apart. Treatment was continued 10-12 months later with two oral doses of nosoLEP 10MC given 7-9 days apart. Each dose comprised 5 drops under the tongue (given by trained health professionals) and administered 20 mins away from eating, drinking and smoking. HP treatment was restricted to those over 1 year of age.
Homeoprophylaxis was given to 92% of the 2.3 million high-risk population; in addition to this use of the 15,000 doses of conventional vaccine included vaccination of 0.6% of the high-risk population.
*’cases per week’ means the number of cases of Leptospirosis per 100,000 people, per week.