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People In India Urged Not To Smear Cow Poo On Their Bodies To Protect Against Covid-19

People In India Urged Not To Smear Cow Poo On Their Bodies To Protect Against Covid-19

They believe the excrement will boost their immunity or assist in their recovery.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Doctors in India are urging people not to smear cow poo on their bodies as a defence against coronavirus.

Cows are revered as holy animals in the country that is currently being plagued by a horrific and dramatic Covid-19 wave.

There have been hundreds of thousands of new cases and thousands of deaths every day, however official figures could be much higher.

According to Reuters, some people in the state of Gujarat in the country's west have been flocking to cow shelters to cover their bodies in cow dung and urine.

They believe it will help boost their immunity and stop them getting the virus or it will assist them in their Covid-19 recovery.

PA

People who practice this will also hug and worship the cows while the dung dries and then wash it all off with milk or buttermilk.

It stems from the Hindu belief that the cow is a sacred symbol of life and the earth. People have used cow poo for centuries to clean their homes because they think it has therapeutic and antiseptic benefits.

However, doctors say there is no evidence whatsoever that animal excrement will be beneficial in the fight against the pandemic.

Dr JA Jayalal, national president at the Indian Medical Association, said in a statement: "There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine work to boost immunity against COVID-19, it is based entirely on belief.

"There are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products - other diseases can spread from the animal to humans."

PA

In addition to smearing the dung on themselves, there is now a clinic being run in the home state of Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi.

The Vedalakshana Panchagavya Ayurvedic Covid Isolation Centre uses up to 5,000 cows to make a concoction consisting of cow urine, dung, milk, ghee (butter) and curd.

The facility distributes this as an alternative medicine for the coronavirus, as well as providing routine and traditional treatment for people suffering with coronavirus.

Official figures state India has experienced more than 23 million cases of Covid-19 and 254,000 deaths since the pandemic began.

There has been an increase of 348,000 new cases in the past 24 hours.

The country is racing to vaccinate as many people as possible while keeping up with the rapidly rising demand for oxygen and hospital beds.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Coronavirus, India