Throughout history, the darkest pages are written in with the blood of war, plague or pandemic. Be it the Spanish Flu 1918 or COVID-19. Not much has changed even in a century’s time when it comes to communicable diseases.
In fact, the truth is our ancestors fought it better than us. Management of these diseases as well as their prevention is crucial. Take a cue from the ‘plague village’ of Eyam.
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The ‘plague village’ of Eyam
1665-66, during the bubonic plague outbreak, the inhabitants of Eyam practised self-quarantine. They stayed locked in within the boundaries of their village. And sacrificed themselves to save the world from the outbreak of a disastrous plague.
They build boundary walls along the borders of the village. Drilled holes on top of the boundary stone. It was to pay for food and medicine brought to them by the neighbouring villagers.
After a year of continuous suffering, more than a quarter of the village population died. But they were sucessful in containing the plague. Only if we could have followed the same during the first strike of this pandemic!
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Long Indian history of Plague
COVID-19 is not the first instance when we stare at the barbaric outbreak of a plague. There are several instances of a plague outbreak in the history of India.
The most recent ones would be the outbreak of plague in Surat (Gujarat) and Beed (Maharashtra) in 1994. Shimla stood against the fatal flu in 2002 and Uttaranchal faced a similar crisis in 2004.
The 1994 plague outbreak
The 1994 plague outbreak of India had Surat (77 cases) as the epicentre. When the word spread around, people panicked. They hoarded antibiotics and fled the city.
Tetracycline, an antibiotic for treating plague vanished from the counters. More than 200000 people left Surat, the largest migration after partition!
This led to the spread of the plague in different parts of the country. Maharashtra (488 cases), Karnataka (46 cases), Uttar Pradesh (10 cases), Madhya Pradesh (4 cases) and New Delhi (68 cases).
But the government acted in time and contained the plague before it turned into a pandemic. They established checkpoints restraining the inhabitants of Surat to quarantine.
Further, they alerted the hospitals and brought paramilitary forces in to action. Because of such pro-action, the disease did not spread to neighbouring states.
The plague of 2004 – Uttaranchal
Oct 2004, yet another bubonic plague that spread in a village of Uttar Kashi, Uttaranchal. It reported 8 cases of which 3 patients died within 48 hours of developing symptoms. While the 5 survivors had enlargement of lymph nodes.
They controlled the outbreak within 14 days with the use of tetracycline. As a preventive measure, they gave chemoprophylaxis to about 1250 people. Thus, we were able to manage this too!
The pandemic of 2020
Though there have been several instances of plagues emerging in different spots of the country. But none reached the stature of the 2020 pandemic. Spanned across countries the coronavirus pandemic has reached the devasting state that has always been feared in the history of plagues!
Connecting the bits and pieces
Throughout the history of plague outbreaks, a few things have come clear into the light. Though many can get the infection, not all die. This difference between death and recovery is determined by an individual’s immunity. People with strong immunity can survive even fatal flu.
Social distancing and quarantine are effective. But it works only in the initial stages of the outbreak. Because of the wide magnitude of COVID spread, these strategies did not prove to be much effective.
Proper diet, exercise, managed stress and good mental health plays an important role. People deprived of these essentials are prone to communicable diseases.
The role of Ayurveda in the management of communicable diseases
Antibiotics have always catched the centre stage in the last century, when it came to fighting plagues and pandemics. But only in recent times, the world wakes up to realize the role of Ayurveda in the management of communicable diseases.
Ayurveda classifies epidemics under the term Janapadodhwamsa vyadhi. Janapadodhwamsa refers to diseases that arise from microbes which have the potential to kill the mass of people.
Ayurveda mentions that Janapadodhwamsa can occur due to deranged Vayu(air), Jala(water), Desha (habitat) and Kala (seasons).
Ayurveda advocates the importance of strong immunity. With the outbreak of infectious diseases occurring more often than ever and the increased scope of their spread, it is imperative to look for preventions more than cure!
And what’s better than a strong immunity to wall up against such pandemics.
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Communicable Diseases in the dictionary of Ayurveda
Ayurveda describes the causes of all diseases under the Ahara (diet), Vihara (behavioural), Kala (environmental) and Manasa (psychological). The Vedic science indicates that diet and lifestyle have a direct role in health and diseases.
Ayurveda uses terms like Sansargaja and Upasargaja to indicate contagious diseases that can be transmitted directly from infected persons to healthy persons. Diseases that can be transmitted through respiration or airborne.
Ayurvedic scripts highlight that the management of these infectious diseases is either preventive or curative. Ayurveda mentions procedures like Shodhana (bio-purification) and Rasayana (immunomodulatory medicines) should be planned in the persons living in risk-prone areas. These Ayurvedic medicines help improve immunity and thus lower the risk of infection.
Management of communicable diseases in Ayurveda
Ayurveda has always been a stern advocate of natural remedies even for the most fatal diseases. The solution to every problem of man lies buried in the folds of nature. Men just have to look through the leaves to find the right remedy.
For example, for the management and prevention of various types of viral fevers, Ayurveda suggests neem, guduchi, yastimadhu, chirayata, tulasi, ginger, bhumyamalaki, kiratatikta, lathakaranja, sudarshana vati, etc.
Ayurveda suggests fumigation of the area with Aparijitha doopa churna, along with dry Neema leaves, Kapura and Vacha.
Such epidemics can also result in long-term disabilities. In such cases, analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory herbs like Nirgundi, Shallaki, or Guggulu may provide relief.
Early treatment to control the inflammatory process may prevent bone erosions and reduce the side effects of any medicines with toxicity.
Conclusion
Ayurveda, the 5000-year-old science of health and wellness, enlightens on the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. It prescribes a holistic diet, healthy eating habits, right lifestyle, and living with self-controlled behaviour with the tranquillity of mind tuning in accordance with one’s Prakriti.
However, in the light of new emerging cases of contagious diseases as well as the resurrection of old viruses, further efforts are needed. Early detection may be the key to stop the rapid implementation of effective measures.
Also, further research is also needed to highlight the role of herbal remedies in the prevention, detection and management of communicable diseases.
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