Ayush Ministry: Ayurvedic medicine treating dengue to be launched

A senior official of the Ayush Ministry said that an Ayurvedic medicine to treat dengue is undergoing the third and final phase of clinical trials and will be launched within the next two years. The Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said the research on the medicine was being carried out by Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy) Ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The medicine is made of a variety of Ayurvedic herbs that are grown in India and is likely to be in the market in the next two years in the form of a pill.

‘World’s first medicine against Dengue’

"The research is in the third phase (final phase) of the clinical trial. It will be done in the next two years. Once finished, this will be the world's first medicine against dengue," the official said on the sidelines of a press conference on the achievements of the ministry in the last 100 days.

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Details of the medicine awaited

Details about the pill, such as the name of the medicine, how it will be sold - over the counter or through prescription - are yet to be decided. The ICMR and the ministry team will also have to work to standardise the dosage and fix the proportion of each herb used.

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Dengue outbreak in Delhi

Dengue cases are on the rise in Delhi, more than 75 dengue cases have been registered in Delhi in 2019. According to SDMC (South Delhi Municipal Corporation), which keeps a tab on vector-borne diseases for the city, reported 2,798 dengue cases and four deaths in 2018 while 4,726 dengue cases and 10 deaths in 2017. Following the outbreak this year, the Delhi government even launched a special campaign to fight dengue.

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Dengue wrath in India

The vector-borne disease affected  6,210 people across the country in 2019, according to the information given by the government in Lok Sabha on June 21, 2019. The number of people affected by vector-borne diseases has alarmingly gone up in recent years in India. 

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(Inputs from PTI)