Traditional remedies better than drugs for treating tropical diseases

Traditional remedies are as effective as any drug in treating tropical diseases in Africa, a new study has found.

Remedies that have been used for centuries in Ghana have a very high success rate against chronic infections such as river blindness (onchocerciasis) and elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis), both caused by parasitic worm infection.

Drugs are becoming less effective against these diseases because of overuse and drug resistance, say researchers from the University of Ghana. They tested 15 traditional medicines and found that several killed all the male worms and more than 60 percent of the females. Eight of the remedies also killed parasites that caused other diseases.

(Source: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2020; 14: e0008919)

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