Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday commented on a video from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad which shows a group of men covering their bodies with cow dung and urine in the hope that it will boost their immunity against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Yadav attached the video shot by news agency Reuters in his tweet, and added a jibe.
“Should we laugh about it or cry,” Yadav said in his tweet.
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.
“… even doctors come here. Their belief is that this therapy improves their immunity…,” Gautam Manilal Borisa, a participant of the ritual, told Reuters. Mr Borisa, who is an associate manager at a pharma firm, claimed the practice helped him recover from COVID-19 last year.
Doctors and scientists have repeatedly warned against alternative treatments for COVID-19, saying that they can lead to a false sense of security and further complicate health problems.
“There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine boosts immunity against COVID-19,” Dr JA Jayalal, the head of the Indian Medical Association, told Reuters.
“People should also understand that using excreta of cows is bound to increase the chance of some zoonotic or infectious disease spreading,” he added.
