 |
To defeat the enemy, we must know the enemy |
||
Information appearing here is gathered froom a variety of third-party sources and these parties hold the necessary copyright to the information. This site merely collates information for
the purpose of educating the public on SARS. |
Possible Cures [More links to news on SARS cures here]
A Possible Cure for SARS in Sydney, Australia? From the article "World gets sick, Chinatown sneezes" by David Dale, dated April 14 2003, first published in the Sydney Morning Herald (All copyrights held by the paper). The full story is available here. It seems that instead of consulting their doctors, some Chinatown residents are heading for herbalists such as Win Duc, which offers a "preventive" potion based on a recipe developed in Guangzhou. Jean Lam, who runs Win Duc with her husband, says she is been selling up to 100 packages a day of the "prescription", ever since it was discussed two weeks ago on a Chinese radio program in Sydney. Customers kept coming in with the list of nine ingredients scribbled on pieces of paper, so she now has them pre-mixed and wrapped. The dried ingredients, which look like black, white and grey fungus, are all imported from China. Their Cantonese names translate into such botanical terms as Lonicera flower, Isatis root, forsythia, prunella and coix. Mrs Lam says they should be boiled for an hour with six cups of water. This produces a dark-brown tarry-smelling liquid that tastes like the strongest tea you ever encountered. One cup a day for five days supposedly strengthens the body's immune system so that it can better resist the virus. Does it work? Dr Ying, who was trained in Western medicine, neither criticises it nor endorses it. She considers it a form of tea, and can't see that it would do any harm. "Western medicine hasn't developed a treatment for SARS yet," she points out. "If people want to believe that something like this will help to keep it away, good luck to them. Sometimes believing is very important." In a related story... 'Anti-Sars' potion flies off shelves in Sydney Chinatown Copyright of this article belongs
to AP. This article was received via email and SARS Info Center
dows not guarantee its accuracy. The clack of abacus beads calculating sales has grown more frenetic and the store more cramped in the past two weeks, after word spread through Sydney's Chinatown that MS Lam was selling a potent herbal deterrent to the killer flu-like virus, Sars. As Ms Lam racked up sales on Monday, her husband, Mr Lam Hawk Yun, bunched leaves onto a white square of paper then tied them up with elastic. Emblazoned with Chinese characters, each package contains an aromatic blend of nine different herbs the Lams' clientele believes will ward off severe acute respiratory syndrome, the new virus that has claimed at least 133 lives worldwide. Ms Lam doesn't know if the concoction works, but her customers swear by it. 'They came in saying that everyone was taking it in Hongkong and Guangzhou,' she said, referring to the Guangdong provincial capital in China where the respiratory illness has claimed at least 45 lives and is believed to have originated. At least 40 others have died in Hongkong. 'I just know it's good for your liver, it cleans your liver and cleans your lungs,' she said, standing in front of a wall of shelves bulging with jars of dried products including sea horses, black fungus and crocodile meat. Her Chinese customers first began asking for the potion two weeks ago, after it was discussed on a Chinese radio programme in Sydney. Although no Sars cases have been reported in Australia, customers kept coming in with the list of nine ingredients so she now has them pre-mixed and wrapped. She has been selling up to 100 packages a day at A$3 (US$1.80) each, she said. That number could rise after the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper carried a story about the store on Monday. The ingredients are all imported from China, their Cantonese names translated into botanical terms like forsythia, prunella and coix. Australians and other nationalities have only caught on in recent days. Two women who gave their names and Lorna and Carol, came into the shop looking for something to stave off a winter cold. 'I've always been interested in holistic and natural approaches to healing,' Ms Carol said, as she listened intently while Ms Lam gave instructions on how to prepare the potion by boiling it in water. The two women each bought a package before tucking them into their bags and rushing out to catch their train. -- AP Map of Sydney Chinatown from Sydney on the Web [click here] |
||
SYDNEY -- Customers squeezed between boxes of dried
lili bulb and motherwort herb and pulled packets of wild guava
tea and royal jelly off shelves, as Ms Jean Lam worked the abacus
on the counter of her Chinese herb shop.
