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EPIDEMICS
Flu season has some turning to Chinese remedies

Common cold a Superman against remedies
Arlington, Va. (UPI) Feb 16, 2011 - Chicken soup, alternative therapies and more medically based remedies don't do a thing to cure the common cold, a U.S. organization said. Aaron Glatt, spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America in Arlington, Va., said some remedies that test well in a petri dish just fall flat when tested on humans, USA Today reported Tuesday. "In a nutshell, there's nothing that works," Glatt said. "There's a tremendous industry out there, and some people really swear by them. But there really aren't great studies to show any benefit."

Also, not enough carefully performed research has been done to determine whether more home-based remedies -- such as chicken soup or hot tea and honey -- have any effect, said pediatricians Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll, because drug companies typically don't invest in studies of common foods or products that people can buy anywhere. "When it comes to over-the-counter therapies, they're pretty cheap, so people will buy them anyway. But if they don't work, you shouldn't be surprised," Carroll said. "(But) if tea makes you feel better, go ahead. If a warm blanket and a pillow makes you feel better, do it."

China warns HIV/AIDS highly prevalent in some areas
Beijing (AFP) Feb 16, 2011 - China warned Wednesday of the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in some areas, saying the situation in the country was still grim and calling for better prevention and treatment of the disease. "The disease in some areas and population groups has become highly prevalent and many HIV carriers and patients have not yet been discovered," the State Council, China's cabinet, said in a statement.

It added the HIV virus that causes AIDS was mostly sexually transmitted in China, with rates of infection among homosexual men increasing, and called for the disease to be brought under full control by 2020. The statement did not specify which areas of the country were particularly affected. According to Chinese authorities, at least 740,000 people have HIV/AIDS in the country, out of a total population of 1.3 billion, although advocates for patients believe the real figure could be much higher. Long a taboo in China, the government has now started talking more openly about HIV prevention and control.

The State Council called on local governments across the country to protect the legal rights of HIV carriers and AIDS patients. But despite this, harassment of some independent campaigners and organisations still continues. Tian Xi, a 24-year-old activist who has campaigned for compensation for thousands of people who contracted HIV through transfusions, was jailed for a year in central China last week. He was accused of smashing up equipment in the hospital where he says he received transfusions of tainted blood as a child, but activists say local authorities had demanded he be detained before his arrest.
by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 17, 2011
"Big Snake Mak" has a secret weapon to fend off the threat of flu -- it wriggles and hisses in a basket at his side.

Snakes have been used in China for thousands of years to cure a host of ailments -- snake-fermented wine for arthritis, snake genitals for the kidneys and male sex drive, snake gall bladder for bronchitis.

And snake, says "Big Snake Mak" -- otherwise known as serpent salesman Mak Tai-kwong -- is a proven flu fighter.

"Those that eat snake bile four to five times every year will have a stronger body and will have much lower chances of contracting the flu," Mak told AFP as he pulled a king cobra from his basket that he will kill, cook up and sell.

"Look at me, I'm over 80 but I rarely have the flu. It's because I eat snake regularly."

While not everyone would be inclined to follow Mak's lead, some in the teeming city of seven million are turning away from the traditional flu jab in favour of Chinese herbal treatments.

Freelance photographer Vincent Du used Chinese medicine for chronic asthma as a child and reckons that herbal remedies keep the flu bug at bay -- and ward off long-term illness.

"Western medicine takes effect faster but often has a lot of side effects," he said.

Bian Zhao Xiang, director of the Chinese medicine clinic at Hong Kong's Baptist University, said the number of flu patients at the clinic increased by 37 percent in the latter part of last year compared to the same period in 2009.

The university plans to build a HK$800 million ($100 million) teaching hospital that would provide the city's first in-patient Chinese medicine treatment.

"Chinese medicine is by far a better treatment for seasonal flu (compared to Western medicine), in terms of its effectiveness, side effects and symptom control," he said.

"In Chinese medicine, every patient will receive a personalised, tailor-made set of treatments specific to their body type."

Hong Kong is particularly nervous about infectious diseases, with at least 12 lives lost since the end of January to the deadly swine flu strain of the disease.

Dozens have been admitted to intensive care units with flu of some kind this year.

Officials from the city, which has some of the most densely packed neighbourhoods in the world, have been nervous since the 2003 SARS virus outbreak which killed 300 people in Hong Kong and another 500 around the world.

There is little concrete evidence of Chinese medicine's effectiveness as a flu killer, but many in the city and across China swear it works.

Chinese treatments involve using herbs such as powdered honeysuckle and forsythia, to keep the body's Han (cold) and Re (hot) energies in harmony -- in addition to a healthy diet and acupuncture treatments.

Traditional remedies have been a crucial part of healthcare in China for thousands of years, and used for everything from disease prevention and treatment for diseases to relieving pain and soothing restlessness.

Hong Kong and China's central government have both urged citizens to use different herbal concoctions to beat the flu, and other ailments.

Even everyday foods like garlic, ginger, spring onion and vinegar can help ward off influenza, some say.

However, like some Western medicines, the Chinese variety have drawn criticism with questions swirling about the production facilities and manufacturing standards in Hong Kong.

Even the industry concedes about half the Chinese medicine sold in Hong Kong had not been tested for the presence of toxic materials such as heavy metals and pesticide residues.

In response, the city's government introduced new legislation in December, banning all unregistered proprietary Chinese medicine with a maximum fine of HK$10,000 and two years in jail.

The move sparked anger among many Chinese medicine practitioners, but there seems little doubt Hong Kong residents will keep using traditional remedies despite the new regulations.

"Many youngsters nowadays turn to Chinese medicine," said Qiu Hong-zhen, a shopkeeper at a pharmacy that sells both Chinese and Western medicine.

"Western medicines are mostly for those looking for a quick fix, but it does not get to the root of the problem -- Chinese medicine is a thorough solution."



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