Homeopathic remedy for rabies: Meghan May interviewed about controversial treatment
Meghan May, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and infectious disease at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine was interviewed about a controversial case of rabies treatment in Canada in which a homeopathic practitioner treated a young child with remedy containing diluted saliva from a dog infected with rabies. The child in the case had been bitten by a dog and was exhibiting aggressive behavior.
Healthline asked May about the potential danger of using such a treatment. She said that mathematically speaking, the dilutions used would be unlikely to contain an intact rabies virus, but that dilution does not break down the rabies virus on a molecular level, so there is a chance that even if a million doses contain nothing harmful, one could contain an intact, live virus.
According to Healthline, the treatment has sparked concern from the British Columbia Naturopathic Association as well as officials with Health Canada. The association filed a complaint against her over possible violations of the group’s code of conduct and code of ethics, stemming primarily from her public statements, not her treatment methods.
“There’s definitely a place for complementary and preventive medicine, but that’s quite different than homeopathy, which has treatments where nobody can actually say what’s in that vial you’ve been handed,” May said.
She said that uncertainty is especially troublesome when the treatment is based on a live rabies virus. “This is unfailingly a fatal disease and nothing to mess around with.”
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