Recently, the Daily Mirror published an article on an Ayurveda physician, Dr.D.D.A.Hettiarachchi who claimed he could cure dengue. Authentic Ayurveda inarguably contains healing properties. However the lack of research has underscored the value of Ayurveda.We spoke to two medical practitioners on their opinions on the efficacy of such treatment. They asserted that the proposed treatment should be clinically and experimentally proven to establish its efficacy and to protect the lives of patients who may otherwise contract unexpected and at times life threatening illnesses. 
Dr. Sarath Hettige- Specialist in Family Medicine
“You have to be open minded; it could be true or untrue.”
Dr. Sarath Hettige, a certified specialist in Family Medicine who discovered and proved the efficacy of the papaya leaf extraction in treating dengue said that instead of criticizing,the public should be broad minded to review proposed theories.
“You have to be open minded; it could be true or untrue. I am an MBBS doctor too. The only way to prove that an Ayurveda medicine or any medicine is efficacious is to conduct a control experiment. You have to divide a group of people into two factions. You administer this medicine to one group and not give it to another. At the same time the usual dengue guidelines should be followed. This was what I did to prove the efficacy of the papaya leaf extraction,” said Dr. Hettige who won the Presidential Award for the best medical invention for 2013 this year. 
Dr. Hettiarachchi’s treatment includes an ointment applied on the head and ears, and a decoction to drink made with a powder, a piece of papaya leaf and king coconut flower nectar. “Papaya leaf is definitely efficacious. There is no doubt about that. There are more than 20 randomized control trials done all over the world. We did a trial at the Kalubowila Hospital,” said Dr. Hettige commenting on the ingredients of the treatment. However as the ingredients of powder have not been disclosed he could not comment further.
When asked if he thought that ‘any dengue patient could be cured within 18 hours’ as Dr. Hettiarachchi claimed in his interview with Daily Mirror, Dr. Hettige replied in the negative. “You can’t cure dengue within 18 hours. You have to first do the NS1 antigen test to diagnose dengue on the first day. Then you should give the papaya leaf extraction on the first day itself. Most people get cured within three to four days and they don’t need hospital admission. But curing dengue within 18 hours is quite implausible,” he said.
Suggesting that Dr. Hettiarachchi should conduct clinical trials to prove the efficacy of his treatment Dr. Hettige said, “You can’t gauge its efficacy by giving the medicine to one or two people. The research could be done in an Ayurveda hospital. But dengue patients don’t seek treatment from Ayurveda doctors. Therefore this doctor should link with a western doctor and conduct a trial. He should get ethical clearance, state what the ingredients are and the toxicity of the powder. There is a long process to follow. ”
“At a time when there was no cure for Malaria, Malaria patients were dumped in a jungle where one man consumed a piece from the cinchona bark when he was delirious. He got cured. Consequently quinine was discovered. Most of the western drugs stem from Ayurveda. But you need proper clinical research,” he noted.
Dr. Sarath Amunugama- Deputy Director General of Health Services
“According to western thinking we will not administer such a treatment unless it has gone through the process of verifying its efficacy.”
Commenting from the perspective of western medicine Dr. Sarath Amunugama, the Deputy Director of Health services said,“Perhaps he is able to cure dengue according to Ayurveda. However in western practice if we are to say that something is efficacious there is a long process to follow. You need to analyze the components. Trials are conducted on animals and then there are small scale studies with people. If there are no complications further trials are conducted under the supervision of an independent body. It is only then that they decide to administer it to human beings. Unfortunately here we have an Ayurveda physician claiming to cure dengue. I can’t say if it’s true or not. According to western thinking we will not administer such a treatment unless it has gone through the process of verifying its efficacy.”
He added that Dr. Hettiarachchi should conduct trials and reveal the scientific document stating the details of the trial so people could be aware of what he has done.
When asked about how the Ayurveda doctor could conduct a research as he had claimed that the lack of funds prevented him continuing his research at IDH on HIV, Dr. Amunugama said, “I don’t know how he approached the Ayurvedic department. The Ministry of Health which Ayurveda falls under has enough of funds. They should not be concerned about funds. They should apply through the Ayurveda department.”
Stating that there was no treatment available to kill the dengue virus and cure the patient in western medicine Dr. Amunugama said, “Around 90% of dengue patients get cured without treatment. In hospitals we monitor the patients to see if there’s any bleeding or leakage through repetitive full blood count tests and other investigations. We treat the complications. We can’t kill the virus because there is no such treatment.”
