There is an herbal cure for COVID-19.
Below is a screenshot of the Facebook post:, The post’s Sinhala-language caption translates to English as: “The resistance power of perumkaayam has the ability to crush any virus!”., Perumkaayam is the local name for asafoetida, a resin usually extracted from the root of perennial herbs. It is often used in Ayurvedic medicine (traditional Indian medicine) and is believed to be effective in treating “breathing or throat problems, digestion problems, or by women to restart their menstrual periods after menstruation has stopped”, according to the US-based health publisher WebMD., The article in the Facebook post reads, in part: “A lot from the current generation are not aware of the value of perumkaayam that can protect us from a variety of viral infections including the coronavirus that is currently engulfing the world in fear.”, Similar claims were\xa0also made on Facebook\xa0here, here\xa0and here,\xa0all of which came just days after Sri Lanka confirmed its first coronavirus case on January 27, 2020., However, the claims are\xa0misleading., Sri Lankan health officials say there is no evidence to suggest that asafoetida can definitively protect people from contracting the novel coronavirus, which has now killed at least 361 people in China and infected over 17,200 worldwide.\xa0Experts also have\xa0urged the public to follow the safety guidelines issued by the Health Ministry to minimise risk., “There is absolutely no basis to the claims that various herbs such as perumkaayam can serve as protective barriers against the spread of coronavirus," Dr. Ashan Pathirana, a registrar at Sri Lanka’s state-run Health Promotion Bureau, told AFP by\xa0phone on January 30, 2020., “We urge the public to refer to the list of countermeasures disseminated by national medical and health agencies to follow, to minimize the risk of contracting coronavirus," he added., Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health\xa0issued this guideline\xa0in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.\xa0Below is a screenshot of the government release:, Dr. L. P.A. Karunathilake, a senior lecturer of indegenous medicine at Colombo University, also told AFP that there is “no truth” in the\xa0asafoetida claim., “It is a completely wrong claim. Ayurvedic medicine does not rely on a singular treatment applicable to all, our treatments are aimed at holistic solutions that are customized to each patient. So the dos and don’ts would differ vastly from person to person," he said by phone\xa0on January 30, 2020., "Ayurvedic treatments shed light on steps that are to be implemented during a viral infection but they involve a combination of food and lifestyle changes, which would contribute to boosting natural immunity.”, , Copyright © AFP 2017-2020.  All rights reserved.  Users can access and consult this website and use the share features available for personal, private, and non-commercial purposes.  Any other use, in particular any reproduction, communication to the public or distribution of the content of this website, in whole or in part, for any other purpose and/or by any other means, without a specific licence agreement signed with AFP, is strictly prohibited.  The subject matter depicted or included via links within the Fact Checking content is provided to the extent necessary for correct understanding of the verification of the information concerned.  AFP has not obtained any rights from the authors or copyright owners of this third party content and shall incur no liability in this regard.  AFP and its logo are registered trademarks.
Health experts in Sri Lanka refute claims of herbal cure for novel coronavirus | AFP Fact Check