New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday (May 12) joined a chorus of voices commenting on a video from Gujarat's Ahmedabad that shows a group of people smearing cow dung on their body to protect themselves against coronavirus.
The video shows men gleefully covering themselves in cow dung and urine in the belief it will protect them against COVID-19. Reacting to the clip, Yadav wrote on Twitter, "Should we cry or laugh over this...".
According to a PTI report, a small group of people has been visiting a cow shelter run by Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Prathisthanam (SGVP) in Ahmedabad to take the therapy, believing that it increases immunity against COVID-19.
The shelter houses over 200 cows. For the last one month, around 15 persons visit it every Sunday to apply cow dung and cow urine on the body. It is then washed off with cow milk, an SGVP official told PTI. Those taking the therapy include some frontline workers and people working at medical stores, he said. Doctors, however, do not vouch for its efficacy.
Applying cow dung on body can give you infection like mucormycosis
Dr Mona Desai, a senior doctor from the city, termed the therapy as 'humbug and inauthentic'. "Cow dung is nothing but body waste. Applying cow dung and urine can never boost immunity or protect you from coronavirus. People should consult doctors and stay away from such therapies," said Dr Desai, chairperson of the women's wing of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). "Instead of proving helpful, cow dung would give you other infections, including mucormycosis," she said.
Mucormycosis, also called black fungus infection, has been observed among some COVID-19 survivors and can be fatal.
"Since cow dung also carries several fungi, they may enter into the body and infect you. I urge people to be little aware and not put their lives in danger," said Desai.
