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[Guest guest]

Looks like China can treat H1N1 flu with Chinese herbal medicine,

which is both less expensive than tamiflu and has less side effects.

Alobar

..

China Focus: China succeeds in developing herbal medication to treat A/H1N1 flu

Xinhua News Agency

12-17-09

BEIJING, Dec 17, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Chinese medical

specialists announced Thursday they had developed a Chinese herbal

medication to treat the A/H1N1 flu.

Seven months of scientific and clinical studies showed the remedy,

called " Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang, " was effective in treating A/H1N1 flu

patients, said Wang Chen, president of Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital.

" It can shorten patients' fever period and improve their respiratory

systems. Doctors have found no negative effects on patients who were

treated in this way, " he said.

" It is also very cheap, only about a quarter of the cost of Tamiflu, "

he said at a press conference held by the Beijing Municipal

Government.

Tamiflu, a product of Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding, was recommended

by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of the A/H1N1

flu.

" The municipal government has gathered the most outstanding medical

experts in the Chinese capital to develop the new medication, " Zhao

Jing, director of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Traditional

Chinese Medicine, said at the press conference.

Over the past seven months, more than 120 medical specialists, led by

academicians Wang Yongyan and Li Lianda from the Chinese Academy of

Engineering, had participated in the research, she said.

The municipal government earmarked 10 million yuan (1.47 million U.S.

dollars) for the project, she said.

" Medical experts proved the effectiveness of Jin Hua in treating

A/H1N1 flu from both the basic scientific studies and clinical

studies, " she said.

The basic scientific studies lasted for almost five months and were

conducted by experts from the China Academy of Chinese Medical

Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Beijing University

of Technology.

" In vivo and in vitro, experiments on mice and rabbits show Jin Hua

can bring down a fever and resist the A/H1N1 flu virus, " said Huang

Luqi, vice president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

Thursday's Beijing Daily hailed the new herbal medication as the

" world's first traditional Chinese medicine to treat the A/H1N1 flu " .

Citing medical officials, the paper said " Jin Hua " was picked from

among more than 100 classic anti-flu prescriptions based on

traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

" Science workers proved its effectiveness through medical experiments

on more than 4,000 mice and clinical studies on 410 patients with

slight A/H1N1 flu syndrome, " it said.

The " Jin Hua " prescription had been adopted in many local traditional

Chinese medicine hospitals, it said.

Zhao Jing said 11 hospitals nationwide, including Chaoyang Hospital

and Ditan Hospital in Beijing, had conducted clinical studies on " Jin

Hua " and gave positive assessments.

" We are applying for patents for 'Jin Hua' both at home and abroad, " she said.

" We are further developing the medicine and trying to present it to

the whole country and world as soon as possible, thus offering an

alternative to treat the A/H1N1 flu, " she said.

The Chinese mainland has reported almost 108,000 A/H1N1 flu cases,

including 442 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Dr. Cris Tunon, senior program management officer at the WHO

Representative Office in China, said Thursday the " WHO welcomes the

clinical results, " as the traditional Chinese medicine offered a

low-cost treatment of A/H1N1 flu.

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=9142 & Section=NUTRITION & source=DH\

B_091218 & key=Body+Title