In the light of concerns over the spread of avian flu into Europe recently, the President of the Faculty of Homeopathy John Saxton has issued the following statement:

At the present time, this is a possible rather than an actual major threat to human health. Equally, the threat to the bird populations of the UK, although greater, has not yet materialised. Even if the latter does appear, it is not inevitable that a human epidemic will follow.

Currently therefore, extensive precautions are not necessary and the best policy, as with the prevention of all disease, is to ensure as good a level of general health as possible. In the event of clinical problems arising, it is likely that those remedies, such as Bryonia, Baptisia, Eupatorium Perfoliatum, Gelsemium etc that have proved effective against influenza in the past would be of some help again (download Health & Homeopathy article on influenza here). If an epidemic develops, it is likely that a particular remedy or small group of remedies will emerge as being of particular value (the so-called genus epidemicus). However, it is not possible to determine this far in advance, as it is dependent on the appearance of the exact symptoms which are peculiar to the epidemic in question. We will provide more information about useful remedies here on our website if an epidemic starts.

Similarly a specific nosode (homeopathic preparations of the ‘bugs’ which cause the diseases) could not be produced in advance as it would be necessary to have cases from which the source material could be obtained. The use of nosodes for prevention is an unproven procedure and such use, together with the advisability of ‘flu vaccination, should be discussed with a homeopathically qualified doctor.