The recent heavy rains, with widespread flooding and waterlogging in rural, semi-urban, urban and metropolitan areas inevitably causing pools of stagnant water, cannot but expose people once again to risks of various mosquito-borne diseases like Japanese encephalitis, malaria (including malignant malaria), dengue, filaria and chikungunya.

In a country like India with its heat, humidity, and heavily populated and congested residential areas, often with open drains, the most that one can do to prevent these mosquito-borne diseases is

a)use bednets, or mosquito nets; and
b)‘eliminate’, as much as possible ., mosquito breeding sites— like water storage containers, flower pots, old oil drums and other objects where water can collect.

While, on the one hand, prevention is difficult, there is no specific treatment for dengue and Japanese encephalitis, with antibiotics being ineffective against viruses and no effective anti-viral drugs having been discovered. What makes the problem really serious is that dengue, Japanese encephalitis and malignant malaria, can be fatal.

Doctors of the PBHRF, especially Dr. Prasanta Banerji who has been in practice for over 50 years, have through their experience treated these fatal mosquito-borne diseases in Kolkata, several towns in rural and semi urban West Bengal where it runs clinics, and in Bihar, following the regimen given below:

Japanese encephalitis

(Japanese encephalitis is one of the several mosquito-borne viral diseases which can affect the central nervous system and cause severe complications and death. Most infected persons develop mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all. In people who develop a more severe disease, Japanese encephalitis usually starts as a flu-like illness, with fever, chills, tiredness, headache, nausea and vomiting. The illness can progress to serious infection of the brain (encephalitis) and can be fatal. Among the survivors, serious brain damage, including paralysis, may occur. There is no specific treatment for Japanese encephalitis, a seasonal disease the patterns of which vary with the rainy seasons.

Antibiotics are not effective against viruses, and no effective anti-viral drugs have been discovered. Care of patients centres on the treatment of symptoms and complications).

At the PBHRF, the use of Belladonna for the treatment for Japanese encephalitis was suggested, based on the Banerji Protocols.

The Banerji Protocols are a new method of treatment using homoeopathic medicines. Specific medicines are prescribed for specific diseases. Diseases are diagnosed using modern/state-of-the art methods. This is done because modern diagnostic approaches incorporate and help in the selection of medicines, so that specific medicines could be easily prescribed for specific diseases.

Belladonna 3 or 30 or 200, normally the third potency, 2 pills in pill no. 40, 3 doses a day.

Cuprum Metallicum 6, 2 pills in pill no. 40, 3 doses a day.

Malaria

Natrum Muriaticum 30c, 1 dose = 2 pills, pill no. 40, one dose every morning .
Chininum Sulph 3x, 1 dose = 1 grain powder, one dose twice daily.
Vitex Neg O, 1 dose = 5 drops in 2ml of water, one dose twice daily.

Dengue

Eupatorium perfoliatum O, 1 dose = 5 drops in 10ml of water, 4 times a day, alternated with Rhus Toxicodendron 30, 1 dose = 2 pills, pill no. 40.

The Foundation has also received enquiries from internationally well-known institutes for research collaborations with regard to the treatment of mosquito- borne diseases.