People are using cow dung and urine as medicine in some countries such as India, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Nepal. Now, this behavior has immensely increased in India after the COVID-19 crisis.
An NCBI report said, in 2020, dozens of Hindu activists held a cow-urine party in India. Some Hindu nationalist party members claimed that cow dung and urine "can help prevent and treat COVID-19."
The Indian superstitious, fanatic politicians and other leaders disseminate the propagation that cow dung can be a treatment for COVID-19 among the general religious population.
This comes amidst the lack of real scientific evidence backing the use of either cow dung or urine as a treatment for COVID-19.
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A member and supporter of the Hindu organization 'Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha' (ABHM) drinks cow urine as a potential cure for the new coronavirus as he attends a 'gaumutra (cow urine) party' to fight against the spread of COVID-19.
Black Fungal Disease
As specified in a Forbes report, eating cow dung can lead to considerable risks. It can have all types of infectious pathogens like ringworms, Salmonella, Yersinia, Campylobacter, and E. coli.
Some even suspect that the black fungal disease, also known as mucormycosis, as detailed in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site, surged in India during the Covid-19 crisis may have been because of the use of cow dung.
Any fecal material from an individual or any species should be considered a harmful waste material and handled as such.
Talking about the wrong use of dung, a video from Haryana, India-based Dr. Manoj Mittal, has been getting hundreds of reactions on social media.
Drawing a Public Health Concern
The video posted on Twitter showed the doctor walking among cows with poops also shown there. He picked up what appeared to be a handful of cow dung from the grown, selected a piece, then put it into his mouth and started to chew. Such behavior has drawn a public health concern.
In May, the Dhaka, Bangladesh-based University of Asia Pacific's Sohel Daria and Md Rabiul Islam wrote a letter to the editor, as specified in the NCBI report, published in the International Journal of Health Planning and Management.
The letter cautioned that those using cow dung and urine to enhance immunity have a "false sense of security."
The said group does not follow, in general, the health safety guidelines. Meaning, the letter writers recommended not to refuse to wear a face mask just because they'd rather eat or smear their face "with dung."
Risks Fostered by Using Cow Dung and Urine
The letter advised the public health official to inform the people that there is no scientific evidence for smearing cow dung and urine to combat COVID-19.
It added the authority needs to let the public know that cow dung and urine are "metabolic waste of cows," and there are no such ingredients to enhance the human immune system.
Also specified in the letter is that there is a need for the government to ban any event or activity for smearing cow dung and urine and favorably encourage them to follow any safety rules. This, the letter mentioned, is something to consider the next time a gathering is held.
Lastly, the two wrote, the health authorities may want to insist on the invitation that "no one comes smeared in cow dung."
Perhaps it is a good idea to maintain "no cow mandates" in food chains, worksites, healthcare places, stores, and schools, even if many people are claiming the liberty to have themselves covered with cow dung.
Related information about cow dung and urine as a treatment for COVID-19 is shown on the South China Morning Post's YouTube video below:
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