Several social media posts have claimed that having goats milk can help in curing or managing symptoms of dengue by increasing the platelet count in people. The claim comes when the cases of dengue has increased in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and some other states.
This has resulted in a steep rise the prices of goat's milk in Madhya Pradesh, UP, Punjab and Delhi.
However, we spoke with doctors and they told us that there is no evidence to prove that goat's milk can cure or prevent dengue fever.
CLAIM
Various kinds of social media messages were seen claiming that goat's milk helps in treating dengue. While some people recommended it to people, some others were trying to sell goat's milk on the social platforms.
We found several more such claims being made on Facebook and Twitter.
While going through the claims and news reports, we found that such claims have been made before as well.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes, caused by the virus of the family Flaviviridae. The symptoms of the disease range from persistent fever, rashes, muscle and joint pain, pain behind the eyes, yellow palms, etc.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is no specific treatment for dengue. Patients need to be treated based on their symptoms.
People who suffer from dengue are advised to have enough rest and eat in small intervals and consume enough fluids. Foods rich in Vitamin C, proteins and spices like turmeric and fenugreek are also recommended by doctors.
We looked for research papers or studies on the use of goat's milk in treating or managing the symptoms of dengue and were unable to find any study published in a reputed journal.
FIT reached out to Dr Suranjeet Chatterjee, internal medical specialist at Apollo hospital, New Delhi, and he told us that such rumours have been around for decades. However, he said that there was no documented scientific evidence to prove that goat's milk will help in treating dengue. Dr Chatterjee also added that other home remedies have also not been proven to benefit patients suffering from dengue.
A team of doctors from the medicine department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) also said the same thing back in 2015.
“If the intake of these [aloe vera, papaya leaf and goat milk] increased platelets in two or three people, that doesn’t establish their efficacy in the cure of dengue. There has to be a proper controlled trial on their efficacy in the treatment of dengue,” Dr SK Sharma, professor in the medicine department at AIIMS told IANS.
There is no evidence to prove that having goat's milk can cure one from dengue. One should seek a doctor's advice on ways to manage symptoms of dengue and treat it in case they are infected.
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