Nigerians, Get Ready For Local Herbs As Treatment for COVID-19

Nigerians may well get ready to begin receiving treatment of COVID-19 infections with local herbs, if feelers from health ministry authorities is anything to go by.

This is coming against the background of increasing casualties through the pandemic on the one hand, and the fact that there is no reliable orthodox remedy for now.

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire told the House of Representatives on Tuesday, that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, was open to the possibility of using local herbs to fight the COVID 19 pandemic,.

READ ALSO: N5k COVID-19 Palliative Disbursement – what Nigerians Want

The proviso however is that herbal healers must subject their therapy to tests by the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.

According to the minister, local herbs could be categorised unto drugs that can cure the virus or those that can reduce the symptoms, since the body must be able to build the required antibodies to neutralise the virus. E

 “Before now, it was said that Chloroquine can destroy COVID-19. But the test is still going on in that regard. We have to test the efficacy of local drugs to see if it can kill or virus and also to find out that is in the process of killing the virus, it can affect the body.

“So, the Institute will carry out the required test on the local drugs find out how it”.

The Minister also said many people who are infected with the virus may not display any symptom and may innocently be infecting others with it, explaining that this explains the need for self-isolation and staying at home.

According to him, those without symptoms are capable of transferring the virus to others with less immunity and this is dangerous. The solution is to keep everybody in isolation.

Ehanire spoke when the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefed members of the House of Representatives.