West Nile Virus :
Prevention & Homeopathic Treatment Options
Independent Homeopathic Research
by Classical Homeopath Robert Lee Dalpé, ND
First published on this web site July 4th, 2005
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Although about 80% of people who are infected by mosquitos with the virus never become ill, roughly 20% get symptoms ranging from a mild cold or flu with swollen lymph glands, muscle weakness, headache, light sensitivity, pain behind the eyes, stiff neck, body aches, stupor, skin rash, fever and chills. In roughly one in fifty or about 2% of those infected, the disease can take a serious turn. Generally people over 50 are at higher risk for this more severe form of the disease. Symptoms can include paralysis, including paralysis of the lungs, encephalitis, menigitis, convulsions, coma and death. Other symptoms the disease may present in either form include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, sore throat, back ache, tremors, muscle weakness and joint aches. Follow the references/links below to learn more about the disease and how to prevent it.
Although treatment options are limited from an allopathic perspective, some success has been found using a WNV antibody treatment made in Israel. General supportive therapy is given as needed. Homeopathy offers a unique alternative for treatment if the disease is contracted, especially in the more severe cases. This article will attempt to analyze the symptoms of WNV, repertorize them and come up with a short list of homeopathic medicines that may be useful in treating, and perhaps preventing the disease when used prophylacticly.
Disease Prevention
Although West Nile Virus can be transmitted through blood transfusions or by mother's milk, by far the most common causation is being bitten by an infected mosquito. Common sense precautions include the use of insect repellent when outdoors, especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitos are most active. It is recommended that the repellent contains DEET. Up to 10% for children and up to 30% for adults. Also wearing clothes with long sleeves and pants, socks and collared shirts is recommended. The emptying and removal of all organic debris and sources of standing water near one's residence reduces the mosquito population in the area. Children's wading pools should be emptied and turned over when not in use, old tired should be drilled with holes to drain away rain water. Screens should be tightly fitted into windows and repaired as necessary. Not being bitten is probably the best way to avoid the risk of contracting West Nile Virus in the summer and early autumn months when mosquito populations are high. Be sure to help those you know who are over fifty with these chores as they are at greater risk for the severe form of the disease and may not have the strength to attend to these precautions themselves.
Mosquito Fish
Mosquito Fish or Gambusia affinis and G. holbrooki are a great vector control species that can greatly reduce the number of mosquitos in an area. This is a great environmentally friendly biological mosquito control method. The fish can be obtained free from many local vector control government agencies. Links to some California sources are located in the references/links section at the bottom of the page. These fish are very aggressive at eating up mosquito larvae and don't require feeding. As a matter of fact, they do their job better if you don't feed them. It's not necessary, as they can survive on mosquito larvae alone. Mosquito fish can be placed in any contained body of water that is not natural. You can even use a small children's wading pool to attract mosquitos and reduce their reproductive output. You'll have fewer mosquitos in the area and a reduced chance of being bitten. Of course you still need to take the other precautions mentioned above. Be sure not to release Mosquito Fish into lakes, streams, ponds or other natural bodies of water as these aggressive little critters will starve out the local minos and other fish and can even whipe out whole species of fish due to outcompetition for mosquito and other larvae which other fish eat as well.
Rubrics Selection and Repertorization :
I think that we need to start with rubrics which represent the worst case scenario of West Nile Virus infection. This is because the disease has the potential to regress to this severe state and therefore the remedies to be considered for treating the disease even in the mild form must have the ability to cure these more severe symptoms. Below I have combined the two rubrics of head, inflammation, brain (encephalitis) and head, inflammation, meninges (meningitis). The reference for the following rubrics is from Dr. Frederick Schroyens' Synthesis 8.1, Repertorium Homeopathicum Syntheticum, Homeopathic Book Publishers, London, 2001. For remedies that appear in both rubrics where the stress of the remedy is the same in both I have given it the same stress. Where one is higher than the other, I have given the stress of the higher order for that remedy. Where a remedy appears in only one of these two rubrics, I have left the stress as it appears in Synthesis. Where a remedy is in lower case in one rubric and all caps in the other I have given it a capitalized first letter (second order of stress).
Although only 21 remedies came through this particular repertorization, practitioners should not exclude from consideration in West Nile Virus cases remedies in the first two combined rubrics, particularly those that are stressed such as Helleborus, Ledum, Senega and Sulphuricum acidum. The best repertorization is one that is individualized to the patient. Here I have attempted to create a quick reference rubric for WNV as a tool for homeopathic practitioners. I have limited rubric selection to two basic rubrics in order to include the largest number of remedies that may be of use for treatment and prophylaxis of this disease. These possess the etiology of the disease and it's worst possible outcome short of death. I think this is a fair representation of the medicines that should prove useful or curative. Standard allopathic therapy will also be needed in severe cases and Homeopathy can be use concomitantly to increase the rate of success and reduce suffering.
Looking over the remedies that repertorized out, I see that Lachesis came out with the strongest emphasis. Note also that Crotalus horridus is there as well. This indicates to me that snake remedies in general may be useful for this disease. So I have added Vipera as the 22nd remedy even though it did not repertorize down, but exists in one of the two larger rubrics. So we must consider all snake remedies here. A technique of prescribing Sheilagh Creasy once taught me was to "switch snakes" as required in a case. So, all snakes are "on the table", as it were.
As stated before, each case needs to be looked at individually, with an eye to the particular symptom pattern for that person. But I hope that this WNV rubric created here will be of some use to practitioners treating cases of the disease. Input and feedback by email or on The Classical Homeopathy Yahoo! Group are welcome regarding the use of these medicines for WNV both in humans and animals. They should work just as well for horses, say, as they do for people, though an Homeopath specializing in veterinary medicine may be required. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Fight the bite! Employing the above precautionary measures should greatly reduce the incidence of West Nile Virus here in California and elsewhere. Special thanks to my good friend Zangmo for input and great ideas for this article.
Another repertorization of WNV has been submitted to the Classical Homeopathy Yahoo! Group by Mir Mostafa Kamal, DHMS from Bangladesh on July 12th, 2005 using Mercurius homeopathic freeware. Membership to the group is free and required to view postings.
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Mosquito Fish or Gambusia affinis and G. holbrooki are a great vector control species that can greatly reduce the number of mosquitos in an area. This is a great environmentally friendly biological mosquito control method. The fish can be obtained free from many local vector control government agencies. Links to some California sources are located in the references/links section at the bottom of the page. These fish are very aggressive at eating up mosquito larvae and don't require feeding. As a matter of fact, they do their job better if you don't feed them. It's not necessary, as they can survive on mosquito larvae alone. Mosquito fish can be placed in any contained body of water that is not natural. You can even use a small children's wading pool to attract mosquitos and reduce their reproductive output. You'll have fewer mosquitos in the area and a reduced chance of being bitten. Of course you still need to take the other precautions mentioned above. Be sure not to release Mosquito Fish into lakes, streams, ponds or other natural bodies of water as these aggressive little critters will starve out the local minos and other fish and can even whipe out whole species of fish due to outcompetition for mosquito and other larvae which other fish eat as well.