Jul 26, 2006

Tempe, AZ (July 26, 2006) – Avian influenza virus is simply put, influenza commonly and naturally found in wild birds. According to the Center for Disease Control, changes in the protein makeup of the virus create various combinations and many subtypes, all of which can be found in birds. Currently, there are approximately 25 known subtypes of avian influenza, also known as influenza A or bird flu.

In 1997, subtype H5N1, which can even be deadly to birds, was detected in a human in Southeast Asia. The subtype most likely resulted from genetic reassortment, which means the virus found in birds likely mixed with an existing type of human influenza thereby creating a new subtype with genetic information from both and making humans susceptible. Three other subtypes of avian influenza have been detected in humans, H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2, but none have proved as serious a health threat as H5N1. Since ‘97, the World Health Organization has reported 232 cases of and 134 deaths from avian flu.

Though H5N1 does not spread to humans easily—most cases have been reportedly linked to the improper handling of infected poultry— nor does it transfer from human to human easily, the virus’ ability to change forces healthcare workers to seriously note the risks. If H5N1 developed the capacity to transfer easily from human to human, a pandemic of proportions not seen since the early 1900s would befall this generation. In 1918, the “Spanish flu” pandemic killed an estimated 20 to 50 million people worldwide from an avian subtype. Though a similar outbreak is considered unlikely, the subtype responsible for the 1918 pandemic has been studied to help inform the current avian influenza situation.

Though some prescription medicines currently used in the United States to treat human influenza may work in treating an avian influenza outbreak, the probability is high that the virus would become resistant to any existing medication due to, again, its ability to change and create new subtypes. This fact creates a public fear that if an outbreak were to occur, little could be done in the face of such a malleable enemy. However, there is evidence that homeopathy has made a significant difference. 

The average allopathic mortality rate during the 1918 pandemic was roughly 30 percent; however, a homeopath practicing during that era recorded a mortality rate of just over one percent.  Dr. Eric Udell, Associate Professor of Homeopathy at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, says that there is “overwhelming evidence that [homeopathy] was perhaps the most effective form of treatment during the last great flu pandemic.” In 1920, the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy published an article entitle “A Chorus of Fifty in Harmony.” In this article is a detailed account of his and his colleague’s treatments of 26,795 patients during the pandemic. It is from this data that the quantitative mortality rate was derived. “Not only has homeopathy been effective in treating influenza, but,” says Dr. Udell, “Homeopathy also has a very strong record in treating other epidemics ranging from smallpox to scarlet fever to cholera, further substantiating claims that homeopathy is likely to be a very effective and important treatment in the event of an Avian flu pandemic.”

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About Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine

Located in Tempe, Ariz., and founded in 1993, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences is an accredited higher learning institution. It offers a four-year medical program that trains students to become primary care physicians. Naturopathic medicine emphasizes the body’s innate ability to self-heal. It draws on a rich history of natural, nontoxic therapies in combination with current medical advances. The scope of practice includes all aspects of family and primary care using integrative modalities such as acupuncture, homeopathy, clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, manipulation, and pharmacology.