TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH TUBERCULOSIS IN AFRICA WITH MOXIBUSTION

This is truly exciting work that is being carried out at two locations – one in Uganda and the other in South Africa. These large-scale studies are being led by a British-based charity in collaboration with local medics and involve the use of moxibustion on patients with tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis remains the second biggest infective cause of mortality in the world, particularly in less-developed areas. Despite advances in treatment in the developed world, it remains endemic in poorer countries and thrives amongst poorer living conditions. It will kill 70% of those who go without treatment (higher amongst HIV sufferers), and drug supply in Africa is inconsistent and inadequate.

The tuberculosis bacteria also has an enormous capacity for mutation, which is leading to strains of drug-resistent and even multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. One other major complicating factor is that the cost of medications are prohibitive to poor countries, and there has also been some criticism that pharmaceutical companies have steered research away from the treatment of tuberculosis and the search for vaccines because there is not sufficient profit to be made.

I frequently use moxibustion in my clinics here in south London. It involves the use of the dried leaves from a plant called mugwort. I most commonly use it in stick form (which resembles a cigar in appearance), but the MoxaAfrica team use it directly on the skin rolled up into small cones. Moxibustion has been used in East Asia for a least two thousand years as a means of fighting infective disease and strengthening the immune system, particularly in Japan. There have been numerous modern studies carried out that seem to confirm the effeciveness of this traditional practice.

Significantly, it is cheap, and it cannot be patented, so it is a treatment that could be made widely available. With a small amount of training, it can even be self-administred. And non-compliance of treatment has no side-effects (poor treatment regimes with drug therapy encourage the development of drug-resistent strains).

These studies are still in their early days, but the initial results are encouraging. If you want to read more about what MoxaAfrica are doing, you can take a look at their website.