Contribution of homeopathy to the control of an outbreak of dengue in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro

Homeopathy has contributed throughout history to the control and eradication of epidemic diseases. Facing the challenge of controlling an outbreak of dengue, the Secretary of Health of the county of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in early 2007 carried out a “Homeopathy Campaign against Dengue”. 156,000 doses of homeopathic remedy were freely distributed in April and May 2007 to asymptomatic patients and 129 doses to symptomatic patients treated in outpatient clinics, according to the notion of “epidemic genus”. The remedy used was a homeopathic complex against dengue containing Phosphorus 30cH, Crotalus horridus 30cH and Eupatorium perfoliatum 30cH. The incidence of the disease in the first three months of 2008 fell 93% by comparison to the corresponding period in 2007, whereas in the rest of the State of Rio de Janeiro there was an increase of 128%. While confounding factors were not controlled for, these results suggest that homeopathy may be an effective adjunct in Dengue outbreak prevention. Keywords: Homeopathy; Collective Health; Epidemics; Dengue.  Contribuição da Homeopatia para o controle da epidemia de dengue em Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Resumo A Homepatia tem contribuído através da História no controle e erradicação de epidemias. Em face ao desafio de controlar uma epidemia de dengue, a Secretaria de Saúde do município de Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, iniciou em 2007 a “Campanha da Homeopatia contra a Dengue”. 156,000 doses de medicamento foram gratuitamente distribuídas entre Abril e Maio de 2007 para pacientes assintomáticos e 129 doses para pacientes que já apresentavam os sintomas. Seguindo o conceito de “Génio Epidémico” foi usado um complexo homeopático contendo Phosphorus 30cH, Crotalus horridus 30cH e Eupatorium perfoliatum 30cH. A incidéncia da doença, nos primeiros 3 meses de 2008, revelou uma queda de 93% em comparação com o período correspondente em 2007, enquanto que no resto do estado do Rio de Janeiro houve um aumento de 128% dos casos. Apesar de alguns fatores não terem sido controlados, estes resultados sugerem que o tratamento homeopático pode ser um complemento efetivo na prevenção da epidemia de Dengue. Palavras-chave: Homeopatia; Saúde Pública; Epidemia; Dengue.  Contribución de la homeopatía para el control de un brote de dengue en Macaé, Río de Janeiro, Resumen La homeopatía ha contribuido a lo largo de la historia em el control y la erradicación de las enfermedades epidémicas. Al enfrentar el reto de controlar un brote de dengue, el Secretario de Salud de la provincia de Macaé, Río de Janeiro, Brasil, a principios de 2007, llevó a cabo una "Campaña de la homeopatía contra el Dengue". 156.000 dosis de remedio homeopático se distribuyeron libremente entre abril y mayo de 2007 a pacientes asintomáticos y 129 dosis a los pacientes sintomáticos tratados en ambulatorios, de acuerdo con la noción de "epidemia de género". El recurso utilizado fue un complejo homeopático contra el dengue que contiene Phosporus 30cH, Crotalus horridus 30cH y Eupatorium perfoliatum 30cH. La incidencia de la enfermedad en los tres primeros meses de 2008 se redujo 93% en comparación con el período correspondiente en 2007, mientras que en el resto del Estado de Río de Janeiro hubo un aumento de 128%. Si bien hay factores no controlados, estos resultados sugieren que la homeopatía puede ser un complemento eficaz en la prevención del brote de dengue. Palabras-clave: Homeopatía; Salud Colectiva; epidemias; dengue.  Correspondence author: Laila Aparecida de Souza Nunes, [email protected] How to cite this article: Nunes LAS. Contribution of homeopathy to the control of an outbreak of dengue in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro. Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2008 [cited YYYY Mmm DD]; 7(25): 186-192. Available from: http://journal.giri-society.org/index.php/ijhdr/article/view/315/374. ÂÂÂ

Homeopathy and Collective Health: The Case of Dengue Epidemics

This paper describes experiences of the use of homeopathy in the prevention and treatment Dengue fever in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. May 2001, a single dose of the homeopathic remedy Eupatorium perfoliatum 30cH was given to 40% of residents of the most highly affected neighborhood. Thereafter, Dengue incidence decreased by 81.5%, a highly significant decrease as compared with neighborhoods that did not receive homeopathic prophylaxis (p lower 0.0001). Between April and September 2007, a homeopathic complex composed of Eupatorium perfoliatum, Phosphorus and Crotalus horridus 30cH, given to 20,000 city residents. This trial was aborted prematurely due to national political intervention; therefore, only partial and isolated data could be recorded. However, the results suggest that homeopathy may be effective in the prevention and treatment of Dengue epidemics. Keywords: Homeopathy; public health; Epidemic; Dengue.  Homeopatia e Saúde Coletiva: o caso da epidemia de Dengue Resumo Este artigo descreve a prescrição do tratamento homeopático na prevenção e tratamento da Dengue, na cidade de São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil. Em Maio de 2001, uma dose única do medicamento Eupatorium perfoliatum 30 cH foi adminstrado a 40% dos moradores de uma das regiões mais afetadas pelo vírus. Observou-se uma redução de 81,5% na incidéncia da Dengue, resultado altamente significativo quando comparado com as regiões vizinhas que não receberam o tratamento homeopático (p menor 0.0001). Entre Abril e Setembro de 2007, foi administrado um complexo homeopático composto de Eupatorium perfoliatum, Phosphorus and Crotalus horridus 30cH, para 20.000 moradores. O tratamento foi interrompido prematuramente devido àintervenção de órgãos oficial da Saúde. Em conseqüéncia disso, apenas dados parciais e isolados puderam ser obtidos. Mesmo assim, estes resultados sugerem que a Homeopatia pode ser efetiva na prevenção e tratamento da epidemia de Dengue. Palavras-chave: Homeopatia, Saúde Pública, Epidemia, Dengue.  Homeopatia y Salud Coletiva: el caso de la epidemia de Dengue. Resumen Este documento describe las experiencias de la utilización de la homeopatía en la prevención y el tratamiento del Dengue en São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil. En mayo de 2001, una sola dosis del remedio homeopático Eupatorium perfoliatum 30cH se dio a 40% de los residentes en los barrios más afectados. Posteriormente, la incidencia de dengue disminuyó en un 81,5%, una disminución muy significativa en comparación con los barrios que no recibiron la profilaxia homeopática (p menor 0,0001). Entre abril y septiembre de 2007, un complejo homeopático compuesto de Eupatorium perfoliatum, Phosphorus y Crotalus horridus 30cH, fue administrado a 20.000 residentes de la ciudad. Este tratamiento fue interrumpido prematuramente debido a la intervención de agencias governamentales de Salud, por lo tanto, sólo datos parciales y aislados pudieron ser registrados. Sin embargo, los resultados sugieren que la homeopatía puede ser eficaz en la prevención y el tratamiento de epidemias de dengue. Palabras-clave: Homeopatía, la salud pública; epidémico; dengue.  Correspondence author: Renan Marino, [email protected] How to cite this article: Marino R. Homeopathy and Collective Health: The Case of Dengue Epidemics. Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2008 [cited YYYY Mmm DD]; 7(25): 179-185. Available from: http://journal.giri-society.org/index.php/ijhdr/article/view/312/373. ÂÂÂ

The Spatial Ecology of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in southeastern Louisiana

The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) has a large distribution spanning much of the eastern United States. Because temperature, habitat type, prey composition and abundance, and a variety of other factors may dictate reptile behavior, populations of conspecific species may exhibit behavioral differences across latitudinal and elevational gradients. Using radio telemetry, we tracked 10 adult Timber Rattlesnakes (7 males, 3 females) from May 2016 to June 2017 in southeastern Louisiana to examine the spatial ecology of male and non-gravid female snakes. Mean annual and seasonal home ranges of non-gravid female Timber Rattlesnakes were not statistically different from that of males. Mean seasonal home range sizes and average distances travelled of both sexes was smallest in winter, and had a general increasing trend beginning in spring with a peak in fall. These increases seemed to coincide with the breeding season, taking place from early July until the end of November. Comparison of this study with other studies throughout its distribution could have implications towards future management of conservation for other southern populations of Timber Rattlesnakes.

Varying Intensities of Introgression Obscure Incipient Venom-Associated Speciation in the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Ecologically divergent selection can lead to the evolution of reproductive isolation through the process of ecological speciation, but the balance of responsible evolutionary forces is often obscured by an inadequate assessment of demographic history and the genetics of traits under selection. Snake venoms have emerged as a system for studying the genetic basis of adaptation because of their genetic tractability and contributions to fitness, and speciation in venomous snakes can be associated with ecological diversification such as dietary shifts and corresponding venom changes. Here, we explored the neurotoxic (type A)–hemotoxic (type B) venom dichotomy and the potential for ecological speciation among Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) populations. Previous work identified the genetic basis of this phenotypic difference, enabling us to characterize the roles geography, history, ecology, selection, and chance play in determining when and why new species emerge or are absorbed. We identified significant genetic, proteomic, morphological, and ecological/environmental differences at smaller spatial scales, suggestive of incipient ecological speciation between type A and type B C. horridus. Range-wide analyses, however, rejected the reciprocal monophyly of venom type, indicative of varying intensities of introgression and a lack of reproductive isolation across the range. Given that we have now established the phenotypic distributions and ecological niche models of type A and B populations, genome-wide data are needed and capable of determining whether type A and type B C. horridus represent distinct, reproductively isolated lineages due to incipient ecological speciation or differentiated populations within a single species.

Variation in behavior drives multiscale responses to habitat conditions in timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus)

Variations in both the behavior of wildlife and the scale at which the environment most influences the space use of wild animals (i.e., scale of effect) are critical, but often overlooked in habitat selection modeling. Ecologists have proposed that biological responses happening over longer time frames are influenced by environmental variables at larger spatial scales, but this has rarely been empirically tested. Here, we hypothesized that long-term patterns of behavior (i.e. lasting multiple weeks to months) would be associated with larger scales of effect than more sporadic behaviors. We predicted site use by 43 radio-telemetered timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) exhibiting four distinct, time-varying behaviors (foraging, digestion, ecdysis, and gestation) using remotely-sensed environmental variables related to forest structure and landscape topography. Among sites used by snakes, warmer temperatures and higher levels of forest disturbance were predictive of behaviors dependent on thermoregulation including gestation and ecdysis while more moderate temperatures and drier, more oak-dominated sites were predictive of foraging. Long-term behaviors were associated with larger spatial scales, supporting our hypothesis that the scale at which habitat selection occurs is linked to the temporal scale of relevant behaviors. Management recommendations based on single-scale models of habitat use that do not account for fine-scale variations in behavior may obscure the importance of potentially limiting habitat features needed for infrequent behaviors that are critically important for growth and reproduction of this and related species.