ROLE OF AYURVEDA IN PREVENTION OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC – AN INTEGRATIVE OVERVIEW

The COVlD-19 pandemic has created a global health crisis posing an unprecedented Public health emergency. The number of deaths and people being infected are  Increasing daily throughout the globe. This situation is much more severe due to  Possible devastating situations because of several social and economic factors. Effective management to address this infection is still evolving and attempts are Being made to integrate traditional interventions along with standard of care.

Ayurvedic perspective of COVID-19

COVID – 19 is taken as a Janapadodhwamskara or Maraka, Oupasargika Roga [6, Nidana sthana 5/19] (here Upa = near, Sarga = Produced due to proximity) or contagious disease; and following the model of Patho Physiology (Samprapti) explained by Acharya Madhava in Masurika (Smallpox), should be taken as a nija jwara (Endogenous Fever). Masurika (smallpox) model, is taken, as it shares the characters of being a pandemic, viral infection spreading through respiratory route, highly contagious etc. With COVID -19.

Abstract

Epidemics have not been new to India. Ayurveda being in the fore front of health care of those times, has recorded its valuable experiences of epidemics & termed them as Janapadodhwamsa or Maraka. It has vividly described their mechanism of Causation (Nidana), factors affecting severity and actions complicating illnesses their management and prevention. The present work uses the same model described in Samhitas which assert the superiority of host susceptibility (Nija) over External Agent/Virus (Agantuja) and uses the same principles in prevention; while adopting the Jwara model to explain and correlate with different stages of COVID – 19. It proposes management guidelines using Ahara (Nutritional Principles) and Oushadha (Medication) for different stages and subsets of patients along with their potential complications and drug interactions, utilizing the principles of host factor modification (Dosha hara) and potential broad spectrum Anti-viral (Prativisha) as envisaged by Rasa Shastra.