China's herbal swine flu treatment

There is a good Chinese herbal treatment for pandemic swine flu, according to a Chinese study.

Wang Chen, president of Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, said that Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang (known as Jin Hua) was the most effective herbal treatment for swine flu.

He said that the cost-effective remedy shortened the duration of the fever associated with swine flu, as well as improving overall respiratory health.

Zhao Jing, the director of the Beijing municipal administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that the Chinese municipal government gathered the most outstanding medical experts in the Chinese capital to develop the new remedy.

She said that more than 120 medical specialists participated in the study, which used mice and rabbits, and chose Jin Hua from among about 100 herbal anti-flu prescriptions.

Currently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends Swiss-based Roche's antiviral Tamiflu to treat the pandemic flu.

Huang Luqi, vice president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said Jin Hua had been shown in tests on mice and rabbits to bring down a fever and help the body resist the influenza virus.

Local newspapers have hailed the remedy as the world's first traditional Chinese medicine remedy for swine flu. Officials said it had been picked out of 100 classical medicinal herbal prescriptions from Chinese medicine, a tradition dating back to the earliest Chinese emperors.

The medication had also been tested on 410 moderately sick human A/H1N1 patients, according to the Beijing Daily newspaper.

A total of 11 hospitals nationwide had conducted clinical trials on Jin Hua and given positive assessments, and Chaoyang Hospital has said it will file patents for the drug both domestically and internationally.

Zhao said the hospital hoped to be able to offer an alternative treatment for pandemic influenza.

China has seen around 108,000 A/H1N1 flu cases, including 442 deaths so far, according to official figures. WHO representatives in China welcomed Jin Hua's trial results, saying the remedy offered a low-cost alternative to Western flu treatments.

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