Bangalore:
Twenty years after HIV/ AIDS was first discovered in the country the myths about
the disease continue to cloud the healthcare sector making people vulnerable to
exploitation by ‘quacks’.
Kasinath
R Gaidhankar, a self-proclaimed doctor, claims to have ‘treated and
cured’ over 500 people across the country for HIV/ AIDS by giving
them coconut oil.
In a press
meet on Tuesday, he said: “I am not educated. But I have found that
the coconut oil cannot just cure HIV/AIDS, but also many other diseases.
All it requires is a 30-minute sitting. I have been doing this silently,
but now I have decided to talk about it,” he said.
While
Gaidhankar’s treatment has been rubbished by doctors treating people
with HIV / AIDS, many people in the Positive Network of People with
HIV / AIDS describe many more shocking stories.
“Till
date the virus has no cure. It can be managed with anti-retrovirals,
which is supplied free of cost at government hospitals. But many people
who have tested positive are desperate for cure and become victims,”
says a member. “We have had people who have attempted to have sex
with monkeys, consumed kilos of cow dung and litres, of cow urine,”
he added.
Gaidhankar,
who treats people both in the city and in Gulbarga, charges anything
between Rs.5 to Rs.500 for the treatment. Officials at the Directorate
of Drugs Control admitted that Gaidhankar had violated the Drugs and
Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act.
“We
will initiate action against him,” said deputy director Prabhakumar.
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