There is an epidemic of Yellow Fever in Brazil that is causing some panic. It is claimed that the epidemic started with the deaths last year of hundreds of monkeys in the rain forest in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and Sao Paulo, and then began to affect the human population. In January WHO confirmed that the number of confirmed cases has tripled in January and is advising that foreign travellers get vaccinated before visiting. The timing is interesting, just weeks before the annual Carnival which attracts thousands of tourists to the country.
Brazilians, too, are lining up for the yellow fever vaccination, alarmed by the increase in the number of fatal cases of infection. Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical regions, and continues to be a major killer in Africa and other parts of the world. During the 19th century, when Yellow Fever epidemics were often experienced, homeopathy had the best record of treating it. Conventional medicine had little to offer.
And conventional medicine still has little to offer. Web MD says this, admitting not only that there is no treatment, but even the drugs used to treat the external symptoms come with inherent dangers to patient health:
"Because there is no cure for the viral infection itself, medical treatment of yellow fever focuses on easing symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, and dehydration. Because of the risk of internal bleeding, avoid aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs if you suspect you have yellow fever. Hospitalization is often needed."
So it is little wonder that the Brazilian epidemic has produced panic, and a call for people to get vaccinated. NHS Choices says this about the yellow fever vaccine.
"There's a very effective vaccine that can stop you getting yellow fever if you're travelling to an area where the infection is found."
Very effective? But even NHS Choices admits that it cannot be given to babies under nine months of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people over the age of 60, people with weakened immune systems, and people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in the vaccine, including people with an egg allergy. So for all these people there is no treatment, and no vaccine!
Which leads to the question, why are these people unable to have the vaccine. The reason, of course, is that it is not safe - it comes with a whole host of serious adverse vaccine reactions which are listed on the Drugs.com website.
Brazilians, too, are lining up for the yellow fever vaccination, alarmed by the increase in the number of fatal cases of infection. Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical regions, and continues to be a major killer in Africa and other parts of the world. During the 19th century, when Yellow Fever epidemics were often experienced, homeopathy had the best record of treating it. Conventional medicine had little to offer.
And conventional medicine still has little to offer. Web MD says this, admitting not only that there is no treatment, but even the drugs used to treat the external symptoms come with inherent dangers to patient health:
"Because there is no cure for the viral infection itself, medical treatment of yellow fever focuses on easing symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, and dehydration. Because of the risk of internal bleeding, avoid aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs if you suspect you have yellow fever. Hospitalization is often needed."
So it is little wonder that the Brazilian epidemic has produced panic, and a call for people to get vaccinated. NHS Choices says this about the yellow fever vaccine.
"There's a very effective vaccine that can stop you getting yellow fever if you're travelling to an area where the infection is found."
Very effective? But even NHS Choices admits that it cannot be given to babies under nine months of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people over the age of 60, people with weakened immune systems, and people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in the vaccine, including people with an egg allergy. So for all these people there is no treatment, and no vaccine!
Which leads to the question, why are these people unable to have the vaccine. The reason, of course, is that it is not safe - it comes with a whole host of serious adverse vaccine reactions which are listed on the Drugs.com website.
- Confusion
- convulsions (seizures)
- coughing
- difficulty with breathing or swallowing
- fast heartbeat
- feeling of burning, crawling, or tingling of the skin
- nervousness or irritability
- reddening of the skin
- severe headache
- skin rash or itching
- sneezing
- stiff neck
- throbbing in the ears
- unusual tiredness or weakness
- vomiting
- Difficulty with moving
- joint pain
- muscle aching or cramping
- muscle pains or stiffness
- pain at the injection site
- swollen joints
Well, to be fair, NHS Choices did not actually say the vaccine was safe! However, it was only prepared to admit that the vaccine had a few 'minor' side effects - a headache, muscle pain, a mild fever and soreness at the injection site, which would soon go away anyway! This is not exactly a lie, just the omission of the whole truth! Dishonest perhaps?
Yet is the vaccine the best option, as there is no treatment? Well, not exactly, homeopathy was able successfully to treat 19th century epidemics of Yellow Fever - so is it able to treat the disease now? Well, yes it is; but no-one should not expect to find this mentioned by the conventional medical establishment. And certainly it is not being mentioned to Brazilians, or to anyone planning to visit Brazil for the Carnival.
So I am now off to write another page in my "Why Homeopathy?" website on the treatment of Yellow Fever. It is available at this link - see you there!
