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UV therapy to be tried on 12 Covid patients in Bhavnagar

The randomised, control group study will see 12 participants in each arm — one will be administered standard treatment along with UV -C radiation and another only standard treatment.

Of the 23 clinical trials registered — both interventional and observational — at least 10 trials involve ayurvedic or homeopathic drugs. (Representational)

In the list of alternate therapies being tried in Gujarat mostly based on ayurveda and homeopathy, a clinical trial using ultraviolet radiation, recently approved by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), will be tried on 12 Covid-19 patients in Bhavnagar.

At the helm of these trials is Dr Jagdeep Kakadia, a Bhavnagar-based NRI eye surgeon, who along with Mumbai-based ophthalmologist Dr Ramesh Shah, thought of using UV radiation to inactivate the virus and destroy the spike protein that is the component to which the virus latches on to.

Of the 23 clinical trials registered — both interventional and observational — at least 10 trials involve ayurvedic or homeopathic drugs.

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Dr Kakadia told The Indian Express, “It was in in-vitro conditions in laboratory that exposure to UV-C radiation for up to four minutes kills all microorganisms, either bacteria or virus. But yes, we have not been able to conduct this for SARS-Cov-2 virus specifically because firstly there are a lot of restrictions and secondly the existing virology labs are overburdened.”

“There are existing studies that shows that upon exposure of UV-C radiation at 2 mJ (millijoules, unit of energy)per square centimetre for two minutes, virus is inactivated intra-cellularly. We were actually trying this therapy since July 2019 for treating bacterial or fungal corneal infection and then later started using this therapy for treating conjunctivitis. The idea is to use UV-C light to treat local mucosa while also generating ozone to be inhaled so that the nascent oxygen is used by the virus to bind to it and then when it reacts with water, milder form of hydrogen peroxide is subsequently flushed out,” he added.

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Kakadia explains that the patient’s throat shall be exposed to specific wavelength of UV-C radiation with a torch-like device conceptualised by Dr Shah, with the exposure in a dose of 2mJ per sq cm for a period of three minutes. The objective is to reduce the viral load in the nasal and throat cavity.

Asked if UV-C ray would suffice given that the novel coronavirus attacks the lower respiratory tract and then moves upwards, Dr Kakadia agreed that it would only reduce viral load in the mouth cavity, which is why now the possibility of ozone therapy is being explored, which has fewer side effects.

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UV-C has some possible risks where theoretically it can induce mucosa carcinoma that is, it can be cancer-causing, said Dr Kakadia. Another non-preventable side effect is a sensation of burned tongue which may take a couple of days to ease.

However, at present, a clinical trial has been registered as of June 9, following approval from ICMR, CDSCO and the Gujarat government, which will be conducted at the Bhavnagar Medical College, affiliated to Sir Takhatsinh General Hospital. The randomised, control group study will see 12 participants in each arm — one will be administered standard treatment along with UV -C radiation and another only standard treatment.

In Bhavnagar, Dr Kakadia said 14 were treated with UV-C radiation prior to the clinical trial approval, and thereafter three others were treated.

Dr Shah says that while several this method is found favour via word-of-mouth in patients in other states, including Maharashtra where he is based, Gujarat health department was the only one that showed an interest and gave its approval, which was key in the subsequent ICMR approval.

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AYUSH remedies

The AYUSH department of the state government started distributing ayurvedic herbal formulation ‘sankshamani vati’ (giloy tablets) or ayurvedic drink concoction (ukalo) and homeopathic medicine arsenic album 30, as prophylactic to boost immunity from March 20 in the villages of the 33 districts of the state. From April 11, this was stepped up and was also administered to those quarantined.

Dr Bhavna Patel, director of Gujarat’s AYUSH department, said, “We observed that of the 26,161 who were administered ayurvedic and homeopathic remedies, only 83 subsequently tested positive. Of them, 14 are currently undergoing treatment, while 69 have been discharged. We are yet to take an update on nine patients of the 14 who are undergoing treatment but among the remaining 72 positive patients, 66 were asymptomatic and only six had symptoms.”

By April 23, ayurvedic remedies were being administered in asymptomatic Covid-19 positive patients, which means it was no more just a prophylaxis. This was initially started at the Samras Covid care centre in Ahmedabad and is now continuing in 24 centres across the state.

“3,362 were given ayurvedic medicines, not homeopathic. Of them, 915 are currently asymptomatic patients who are undergoing treatment. Eight others turned symptomatic and were admitted at hospitals (two of them in Ahmedabad) and 2,439 were discharged. Not a single person has died.

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Thereafter, starting May 15, it was decided that mild and moderately symptomatic Covid-19 positive patients admitted in hospitals would be administered ayurvedic medicines. “We started with SVP Hospital and Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and now it is ongoing in nine hospitals. We have given the medicine to 3,202 patients of whom 2,113 have been discharged. Five patients died but they had other complications as well,” said Dr Bhavna.

According to Dr Patel, for Covid-19 positive patients, four ayurvedic drugs are being used two of them with antiviral properties — Ayush 64 and yashtimadhu ghanvati — along with ukalo and sankshamani vati, both with giloy as its key ingredient.

She said the drugs were also tested twice by the Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) for toxicology and thereafter the green light was given for use. However, Dr Patel also clarified that they are not “claiming that anyone was cured because of their ayurveda therapies.” This is also because the larger part of this administering of ayurveda drugs have not been as part of any clinical trial but only after taking specific consent of patients, while also administering standard allopathic treatment of vitamin tablets and antibiotics. “We are just saying that we have received positive feedback from patients,” said Dr Patel.

First uploaded on: 20-06-2020 at 19:56 IST
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