Scientists condemn homeopaths as ‘irresponsible’ and ‘cruel’ for offering victims false hope and for ‘putting lives at risk’
Homeopaths have offered their services to prevent and treat Ebola in west Africa, claiming their “remedies” can work in serious epidemics of infectious disease.
“Homeopaths worldwide have been mobilising their efforts toward gaining entrance in those countries affected,” the National Center for Homeopathy in the US said on its website. “The overriding goal is to investigate Ebola firsthand, and thereby determine which remedy or remedies are best for treating this disease.”
The organisation claims that homeopathic remedies have been used successfully in other disease epidemics in the past, naming cholera, diphtheria and hepatitis among others.
Scientists say there is no evidence that homeopathic remedies have any effect on the body, with the substances so heavily diluted that they are effectively water. But homeopathic clinics have been set up all over Africa, sometimes offering “cures” for such lethal diseases as Aids, tuberculosis and malaria.
“There is not a jot of evidence that homeopathic treatments are effective for any infection such as Ebola,” said Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor at the University of Exeter. “To happily offer affected patients false hope is cruel; to pretend that homeopathy cures Ebola is irresponsible; to travel to West Africa on a ‘homeopathic mission’ is to disclose the insane delusions that affect many homeopaths.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/30/homeopaths-offer-services-fight-ebola
Homeopaths have offered their services to prevent and treat Ebola in west Africa, claiming their “remedies” can work in serious epidemics of infectious disease.
“Homeopaths worldwide have been mobilising their efforts toward gaining entrance in those countries affected,” the National Center for Homeopathy in the US said on its website. “The overriding goal is to investigate Ebola firsthand, and thereby determine which remedy or remedies are best for treating this disease.”
The organisation claims that homeopathic remedies have been used successfully in other disease epidemics in the past, naming cholera, diphtheria and hepatitis among others.
Scientists say there is no evidence that homeopathic remedies have any effect on the body, with the substances so heavily diluted that they are effectively water. But homeopathic clinics have been set up all over Africa, sometimes offering “cures” for such lethal diseases as Aids, tuberculosis and malaria.
“There is not a jot of evidence that homeopathic treatments are effective for any infection such as Ebola,” said Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor at the University of Exeter. “To happily offer affected patients false hope is cruel; to pretend that homeopathy cures Ebola is irresponsible; to travel to West Africa on a ‘homeopathic mission’ is to disclose the insane delusions that affect many homeopaths.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/30/homeopaths-offer-services-fight-ebola
