Quite strange that the Nigerian government is peddling age-old Nano silver as an instant Ebola virus drug! This drug is readily available to buy at the Nigerian price of N6,000.00 online in Europe. It is freely available online as an antibacterial controversial drug. Strange that the government now seems to be advocating this drug as a 7- day treatment for Ebola! Strange! Read the genesis below.
The Nigerian decision to treat patients with nano silver seems to stem from an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan from one Dr Rima E. Laibow.
As Dr. Laibow writes in her letter,
“There is, in fact, a well-established, non-toxic anti-microbial, without any known side effects, available at remarkably low cost which – • Requires no refrigeration • Is self-sterilizing. • Is readily available • Has a very long shelf life • Is not subject to degradation under temperature and humidity extremes. That nutrient substance is Nano Silver.”
Dr. Laibow is Medical Director of an organization called the Natural Solutions Foundation. And one of the products this organization sells is colloidal nano silver.
To be effective, there would need to be systemic uptake of nano silver within the body at doses that are sufficient to inhibit the Ebola virus, but low enough to prevent unacceptable harm. Currently, scientists have no ideas what an appropriate dose is.
Even if they did, it is not clear how the silver nanoparticles would be delivered. Taking the material orally – as would be expected of colloidal silver dietary supplements – is unlikely to be effective as silver nanoparticles dissolve in gastric juices. Nanoparticle uptake from the gut into the body is also very poor. Inhaling silver nanoparticles is likewise unlikely to lead to significant nano-silver distribution through the body. Which leaves direct injection of silver nanoparticles into the bloodstream – not an option to be undertaken lightly with an unproven and untested nanomaterial.
Given the commercial interests involved here and the paucity of evidence for nano-silver being in any way an appropriate treatment for Ebola, the wisdom of treating patients in Nigeria with the material has to be questioned on both medical and ethical grounds. There may be future treatments for infectious diseases that use nanoscale silver and other engineered nanomaterials. But this does not seem the time to be cynically jumping on the Ebola bandwagon to promote products that may offer false hope, but little else.
Credit: Lamzat Blog
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