Senior Health Reporter
Health experts have warned of the potential harm posed by natural remedies such as elephant dung.
For generations, Zimbabweans have relied on traditional medicine, including remedies such as elephant dung (ndove yenzou) to treat a range of ailments.
Believed to possess healing properties, from treating nosebleeds to helping pregnant women give birth naturally (masuwo), elephant dung is revered in many parts of the country.
People can hardly walk in a game park and not pick elephant dung to take back home.
Deeply rooted in the cultural belief that elephants feed on leaves that have natural healing properties, it therefore follows that its dung also holds the same health properties.
"We've used elephant dung for generations. It's our go-to remedy for many issues. Old women will tell you to soak elephant dung in water and drink for a quick childbirth. I have used it and it worked for me," said Maria Ncube from Bulawayo.
Elephant dung is not the only natural remedy being used. People are also using other waste from animals such as the urine of rabbits as fertiliser, monkey urine and other remedies available to them.
However, health experts warn of the potential dangers associated with such practices.
According to Dr Tsitsi Makanyanga, a veterinary doctor, while elephant dung might seem like a natural solution, it's important to recognise the existence of potentially harmful pathogens that can cause serious health issues.
She was speaking during a session on HIV in relation to animal health recently.
"We have the common practices that we do, some of them are harmful and dangerous. From what I have learnt, taking elephant dung is done to help a woman in labour. Maybe it has something to do with the oxytocin that's in that dung.
That oxytocin is the one which causes contractions, so if we are to take ndove yenzou (elephant dung), it means that if there are any zoonotic pathogens like salmonella which come through the gut, then there is a risk of us being infected. And there is no dosage for that oxytocin in dung, it is just haphazard so it can be overdosed. This can cause abnormal contractions and may end up even killing the baby," she said.
Despite these warnings, the use of elephant dung continues, driven by tradition.
The balance between respecting cultural practices and ensuring safety is delicate and calls for more research and education for communities to seek safer alternatives.
Dr Makanyanga said the link between human health and animal health could not be over emphasised as evidenced by the rise in zoonotic diseases.
Zoonotic diseases are transmissible between animals and humans through direct or indirect contact.
It is estimated that globally, about one billion cases of illness and 2,7 million deaths occur every year from zoonotic diseases.
The World Health Organisation also notes that 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases reported globally are zoonotic, and 75 percent of over 30 new human pathogens that have been detected in the last three decades have originated from animals.
A most recent example was Covid-19.
"Also, HIV, although it is not a zoonotic disease, is a disease of animal origin. So, there's a high chance that most of these emerging diseases could come from animals. The list of zoonotic diseases is long, but there are some zoonotic diseases which are of primary concern," she said.
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These include toxoplasmosis which is found in cat faeces and contaminated food, salmonella, mycobacterium which originates from contaminated milk, dairy products or meat as well as rabies and anthrax among others.
She emphasised the need to collaborate between animal and human health through the One Health approach.
"Our clients should be aware of zoonotic diseases and other animal-related hazards. There's insufficient information on the burden, trend, and risks of zoonotic diseases among the population.
There is inadequate resources for control of zoonotic diseases. There is poor collaboration between public health, veterinary, and wildlife sectors. So, this lack of integration compromises our efforts to control these zoonotic diseases, which are of concern to people, particularly those with HIV," she added.
