MANILA, Philippines — Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Enrique T. Ona announced Friday that preliminary laboratory testing of the plant “tawa-tawa” (scientific name: euphorbia hirta) suggests that it may have “some effect” in treating dengue patients.
While Ona said these tests remain inconclusive, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) will continue its research on the active ingredient in the plant that appears to be effective in beating the virus.
“It looks like they (DoST scientists) have already isolated the active ingredient in the plant and it appears that it really has some effect,” Ona told the press during a forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Quezon City.
Believers in herbal medication have long claimed that tawa-tawa is effective in curing dengue patients but there had been no formal scientific research to confirm it.
Dengue survivors who claim they were cured by the plant professed that their blood platelets count increased after drinking water from the boiled plant.
Ona said it is better to have a research-backed method of using the plant rather than just using it as one would use any tea – boiling the leaves and drinking the juice.
“It is scientific to find the component, the active ingredients... hopefully, they will be able to isolate it and come up with a concentrated form,” he said.
Ona said he has not heard of any side-effects from drinking the water from the boiled plant and that doing so serves well for rehydrating a dengue patient.
The website “factoidz.com” describes tawa-tawa as a weed with numerous flowers measuring between 5 and 8 centimeters each, with sepals and petals that are obovate-oblong, yellowish green and covered with large, reddish-brown blotches.
Herbalists recommend that the plant – complete with its flowers, leaves, stem and roots – be boiled and the juice given to a patient at a dose of one cup every hour to have a positive effect in 24 hours.
Doctors noted that severe dengue cases involve dehydration, hemorrhage, and bleeding of the nose, ears and gums. This condition leads to anemia and organ failure.
4-S strategy
Meanwhile, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano said they are helping the DoH in disseminating awareness and information about dengue by applying the 4-S strategy of the agency: The 4-S strategy includes Search and Destroy, Self-protection, Seek early treatment, and Say no to indiscriminate fogging.
She said parents, teachers and principals in the following areas have embarked on activities that would combat dengue and prevent its rise: the cities of Quezon, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Manila, and Pasig in Metro Manila and the provinces of Ilocos Sur, La Union and Benguet, among others.
“We also discussed what to do or where to go if ever there is no doctor in their areas and also what students can do to avoid dengue,” she said.
In Pangasinan, Mayor Julier Resuello of San Carlos City called for a massive blood donation event on September 6 at the city’s gymnasium to collect enough supply for dengue patoients.
Those qualified to donate are people aged 18 to 65, weighing at least 50 kg. or 110 lbs. with hemoglobin level of 125 g/l (minimal level), blood pressure range of 90-180/mm/Hg (systolic), 60-100 mm/Hg (diastolic).
In Imus, Cavite, dengue cases are increasing but local health authorities have told Mayor Homer T. Saquilayan that it has not reached an alarming state.
In response, Saquilayan ordered an intensified anti-dengue campaign with a weekly clean-up drive in barangays (villages), which started Friday in Malagasang II-A and II-G.
Dr. Noralyn V. del Mundo, municipal health officer, confirmed that out of 156 reported cases of dengue in Imus over the past 33 weeks, there had been one fatality.
In Navotas City, the number of dengue cases decreased having listed only 247 patients to date this year as compared with the 840 cases in the same period last year.
Dra. Liberty Domingo, health officer said Navotas ranked second in terms of the lowest rise in dengue incidence among the 17 areas in Metro Manila.
Domingo owed this to the “aggressive intensified drive against dengue,” spearheaded by Mayor John Reynald Tiangco and the City Health Office. (With reports from Liezle Basa Iñigo, Anthony Giron, Ed Mahilum and MB Research)
Source : Manila Bulletin
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar