Epidemics and their prevention in Ayurveda. Dr. Manu Das

      

      Imprint

      Copyright bel Verlag 2020

       www.belverlag.de

      eISBN 978-3-947159-09-3

      Text: Dr. Smitha Devi Chandran

      Pictures Copyright: Shutterstock

      Layout: Karin Schweizer

      EPIDEMICS AND THEIR PREVENTION IN AYURVEDA

      In the wake of the recent outbreak of Covid 19, Dr Manu Das of Kadaltheeram Ayurveda Beach Resort answers your questions on Epidemics and their prevention in Ayurveda.

      It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has.

      Contents

       Epidemics and their prevention in Ayurveda

       The story of the recent Pandemic Covid 19

      Epidemics and their prevention in Ayurveda

      The world has witnessed many outbreaks of communicable diseases as epidemics or Pandemics, wiping out a huge mass of population. Since the 1970s more than 40 infectious diseases have emerged including SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), Ebola, Swine flu, Bird flu, Zika virus, Nipah virus and most recently Covid 19. Due to the rapid industrialization and fast paced urbanization, people are travelling more and living in more densely populated areas. This increases the chances of an infectious disease emerging, spreading and developing in to a pandemic which is a global concern.

      When we look back in history, we can see that viral epidemics occurred on a regular basis eg. Spanish flu is estimated to have killed 25 million people in 1918, Asian flu is believed to have killed 2 million in 1957 and Hong Kong flu killed nearly 1 million people in 1968. Today the whole world is reeling under the assault of Corona virus (Covid 19).

      The most common clinical symptoms are….

      • Fever and Chills

      • Fatigue

      • Sore throat

      • Muscle pain

      • Dry cough

      • Shortness of breath or breathing difficulty

      • Unexplained loss of sense of smell or taste

      The story of the recent Pandemic Covid 19

      Covid 19 is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by a novel Corona virus called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona virus 2 (SARS Cov 2). It spreads 2 to 4 times faster than regular flu and has a long incubation period of 14 days.

      It was first reported from Wuhan city in the Hubei province of China in December 2019 and was the cause of an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin. It was declared as a pandemic by WHO on March 11 2020.

      It is spread primarily through respiratory droplets when an infected person talks, sneezes or coughs. Airborne spreading has not been reported based on all the available evidence. However, people can get infected by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

      Some people become infected but do not develop any symptoms at all. However, they can be carriers of the virus. Around 1 out of every 6 infected people can develop serious complications like pneumonia and breathing difficulties.