Here’s further evidence that people who know how to grow health-giving crops — including specialized medicinal plants — are vital to long-term public health and increased immunity from viral infection.
February 27, 2020 Mr. Chen I-Wan, who was appointed in 2004 as an Advisor to the Comittee of Disaster History of the China Disaster Prevention Association, emphasized in one of our earlier reports that China’s best treatment success against C-19 proved to be a blend of traditional Chinese natural remedies.
Update April 10: The Wall Street Journal reported today that American and Chinese doctors are quietly sharing information on coping with the Covid-19 pandemic. Much of the cooperation is via the Association of Chinese American Physicians, which has more than 700 members — primarily in New York and Connecticut. The ACAP’s new handbook for treating Covid-19 includes mention that traditional Chinese remedies may be used for this viral infection. Meanwhile, Western pundits are asking: “Why hasn’t the Covid-19 contagion spread more widely throughout China, outside Wuhan and the surrounding province?” Perhaps more reliance on traditional Chinese preventive and treatment remedies helps explain that “insulation.”
In 2014, Chen I-Wan was instrumental in organizing an international Food Safety Conference in Beijing, which brought together scientists and other researchers from around the world. A primary subject was the health effect of GMO crops — and toxins such as glyphosate. Now, he’s sharing Covid-19 information online with participants who took part or supported that 2014 conference.
Here’s Chen I-Wan’s personal message to his online friends:
Based on my observation in Beijing of the coronavirus epidemic in China and abroad, I would like to make the following comments:
I am quite concerned that politicians, health officials and doctors around the world are being misled by the low death rate of about 1% of the coronavirus epidemic in China.
Most people do not know the following facts behind the death rate: As per the official data, there are two sets of death rates, i.e. death rate within “Wuhan + Hubei province”, and the death rate in China outside “Wuhan + Hubei province.”
As per the attached official records issued on Feb 24, 2020: The death rate within “Wuhan + Hubei province” started at about 4% on Jan 22, increased to about 5.5% until Jan. 26, lowered to under 4% on Jan 27, fluctuated between about 3.7% – 3% and then, since Feb 13 gradually returned to about 4% on Feb 24.
The death rate in the rest of China, i.e. outside “Wuhan + Hubei province”, remained under 1% for the whole above period.
What are the main factors affecting the above death rate?
1) As the epidemic exploded in Wuhan and surrounding areas with the Hubei province, there were too many patients which could not be handled by the number of hospitals and doctors with ability to deal with such a serious infectious disease. There were not diagnosis kits to identify who is infected and who is not. There was also a shortage of protection masks and clothing for the doctors and nurses, causing many of them to become infected. That further reduced availability of doctors and nurses to deal with the situation.
2) The Chinese government organized about 10% of all ICU staff from all hospitals around China, especially from all military hospitals, and flew them together with their ICU equipment into Wuhan. They were also dispatched to the most seriously affected areas around Wuhan. This eased the shortage of doctors, nurses and ICU equipment.
3) Masks and protection gear, medicine and medical equipment from the whole country were also rushed to Wuhan/Hubei.
4) A large-scale emergency hospital was built within 7 days in Wuhan.
5) Diagnostic kits were rapidly developed, tested and produced, allowing tests for anyone showing symptoms, free of charge.
6) However, besides all the other problems mentioned above causing high death rates, the main reason Wuhan and most other areas in the Hubei province suffered [initially] high death rates was a delayed adoption of traditional Chinese herbal medicine and medical techniques. During the early stage, and for quite some time, most of the doctors of Wuhan/Hubei province hospitals, as well as the doctors flown in from all over the country, were mostly Western Medicine educated and practicing doctors. That was especially so of almost all ICU doctors. They did not understand or trust traditional Chinese medicine and thus rejected using such remedies. However, Western medicine had no effective treatment against this new COVID-19. Thus they were only exhausting all their Western Medicine ICU expertise with poor results and high death rates.
7) Senior-level traditional Chinese medicine masters strongly complained about this situation to the highest leading levels. Recognizing this problem, orders were issued from the highest authority level: Traditional Chinese medicine must be adopted by all hospitals and teams fighting the coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic.
8) In practice, traditional Chinese medicine showed it was effective not only treating light and modest infected patients, but also for prevention. That includes protecting doctors and nurses. It also showed miracles in treating the most serious intensive care patients. Due to strong authoritative orders, as well as demonstrating excellent results, traditional Chinese medicine was gradually adopted for over 95% of the patients. The death rate was stabilized below 1% in most hospitals outside Wuhan/Hubei province.
9) The higher death rate in Wuhan/Hubei province was also related to many elderly patients with various chronic diseases.
What does this mean to the death rates in nations which refuse to adopt Chinese traditional medicine and refuse other natural alternative medicine treatments? We all can only wait and see.
Another aspect not reported by the Western media is the cost of treatment of coronavirus COVID-19 in China:
— The treatment cost for a light-symptom hospital patient by Western medicine could be around Yuan 100,000 (about USD $14,000);
— But for serious affected patients, once they enter the Western medicine style ICU, the costs of treatment start to rocket to Yuan 400,000 to 700,000 (USD $56,000 – $98,000) or even higher.
However, if the patient is treated early by traditional Chinese medicine, the costs could be reduced to only hundreds to thousands of Yuan, meaning less than USD $100 to $1,000.
For Chinese citizens, costs for coronavirus COVID-19 are covered by social medical insurance and state emergency funding.
Finally, and most unfortunately: I have not seen even one study in Western medical journals describing the most successful application of traditional Chinese medicine. I do not know if this is because no Chinese scholars have written such papers, or have submitted this data but did not get published!
As a courtesy to Western physicians, Chen I-Wan translated into English several of the “recipes” recommended for protection from, and healing of, the Covid-19 virus. You can see the original Chinese-language presentation and English translation by downloading the PDF at this link.
We are not publishing this information as a medical recommendation. If this kind of information came from official communist government sources, we’d have little confidence in it. But its origin is among traditional Chinese medical professionals, who’d have little to gain politically from urging their type of treatment. Western-trained Chinese physicians resisted the old-fashioned methods. But as it played out, a combination of traditional remedies plus modern technology such as ventilators looked more effective than anything else available.
We have at least four reasons for sharing China’s internal story on this:
First, to help make American farmers aware that “agriculture” in its broadest sense can be a source of medical health: There are more approaches than just the big-pharma drug route for treatment of viral diseases.
Second, China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday, March 27, phoned President Trump, offering to help with medical assistance and encourage cooperation among nations in the Covid-19 battle. Our report on China’s medical approach is consistent with that goal. President Trump posted on Twitter: “Just finished a very good conversation with President Xi of China. Discussed in great detail the CoronaVirus that is ravaging large parts of our planet. China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!”
Third, we’d recommend that American viral-disease specialists take an up-close and personal interest in the spectrum of China’s natural remedies. They’ve been at it for more than 4,000 years. Now is the time to begin broadening our defenses against the next viral invasion. Another pandemic in the future is virtually certain.
Fourth, consider the source: Mr. Chen I-Wan originated an international symposium in 2014 exposing the dangers of glyphosate residue and GMO crops — in direct defiance of Chinese leaders’ official positions. Many of our scientific friends attended that conference. We’ve tracked their online scientific discussions since. “Chenny,” as he became known by American friends, also organized a petition opposing GMOs/glyphosate later. Thus we don’t see this recognition of traditional Chinese medicines as a part of President Xi’s propaganda.
“Chenny” has also provided a summary of official observations from the Chinese medical community, further explaining management of the pandemic. Their data shows that traditional remedies led to 90% positive results in recovery from Covid-19. Chinese doctors also say they are willing to share their recommendations and natural pharmaceuticals with physicians worldwide. You can read the medical ministry report as a PDF at this link.
The Western world does have a few “medicinal gardens” maintained for harvest of healing herbs, many of them as the foundation for homeopathic preparations. If you happen to watch a video documentary such as Virus Empire: From SARS to Ebola, produced in 2009, you may be motivated to plant the foundation of healing right in your own back yard. The photo below shows such a healing garden in Great Britain. It was established around 1675.
European Union firms that provide homeopathic remedies also maintain their own organically grown herbal lines of medicinal plants.
There are probably hundreds of such gardens across India, where homeopathy and natural healing is the fastest-growing approach to treatment among India’s physicians. Because videoconferencing is worldwide, some of these homeopathic physicians are treating patients all around the globe.
If you want to look into traditional Chinese remedies, one start is to search “traditional Chinese medicine” books on Amazon.com.
