Euloge Yiagnigni Mfopou, a 51-year-old cardiologist and researcher, presents the new package of Corocur to a former COVID-19 patient in his consultation office in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Aug. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Kepseu)
Euloge Yiagnigni Mfopou has a recurrent dream about healing COVID-19 patients with traditional medicine since coronavirus pandemic broke out in Cameroon last year.
YAOUNDE, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Euloge Yiagnigni Mfopou has a recurrent dream about healing COVID-19 patients with traditional medicine since coronavirus pandemic broke out in Cameroon last year.
Days after the outbreak, his colleague was infected with COVID-19.
"We watched helplessly how he was about dying in our presence," said the 51-year-old cardiologist and researcher.
Mfopou thought of his dream and set out to look for a herbal solution to heal his colleague. Later, he found a local plant called thymus vulgaris. The plant contains molecules and antiretroviral drugs that moderate the immune system.
The doctor, who already has two patents for inventions, extracted the leaves and branches of the plants, dried them in good condition to kill bacteria and then processed them mechanically to obtain concentrated powder.
He then administered the solution on his colleague orally in form of tea with antibiotics as complement.
"Three days after he was cured, his temperature dropped and the fever stopped," Mfopou told Xinhua at his medical facility in Yaounde where patients now come to consult and take the treatment.
Mfopou named the drug Corocur, which means coronavirus cure.
In May, National Medical Commission which is responsible for examining applications for the approval of pharmaceutical products in Cameroon, tested and declared Corocur fit to be used to ward off the coronavirus pandemic which has so far killed more than 1,350 and infected some 84,210 in the Central African nation. The product will be in use for a period of three years, according to the country's Ministry of Public health.
"It is (Corocur) effective for more than 97.3 percent. It is both preventive and curative. We have treated more than 2,000 patients since April 2020," said Mfoupou.
Euloge Yiagnigni Mfopou, a 51-year-old cardiologist and researcher, checks the new package of Corocur invented for COVID-19 treatment in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Sept. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Kepseu)
Among those treated with the traditional medicine is David Kuate who was infected with COVID-19 and almost lost his life.
"After two days (of taking Corocur) the fever reduced and on the third day I was in good shape completely. Corocur is a special adjuvant and we are very pleased that this discovery was done in Cameroon," said the 33-year-old health worker.
Corocur is among four such traditional medicines approved by the Cameroonian government and are already on the national list of essential drugs and sold in shops to treat coronavirus.
Cameroon wants to promote the use of the traditional medicine, which has long played a role for indigenous communities throughout the country. Its scientists test the healers' methods thoroughly and give them a seal of approval, said Salihou Sadou, Director of Pharmacy, Medicine and Laboratories in the Ministry of Public Health.
He said, combining herbal medicine with conventional medicine has helped the country deal with the outbreak of the pandemic.
"With COVID-19, we have come to know that we can have more solutions from our indigenous sources than what is coming from abroad. Africa has a lot of plants that are still unexploited," Sadou told Xinhua. "And we believe that with this opening, other people will be encouraged to do more research and to discover more plants that might cure other diseases that like cancer and HIV that do not have a solution yet."
In many places in Cameroon, the use of conventional medicine is still dominant, but the government is resolute to tout treating patients with alternative medicine from traditional sources.
"Less than one percent of medicines from traditional sources are commercialized in Cameroon and modern medicine more than 90 percent. We are trying to invest in this course in such a way that by next year Cameroon-manufactured or local drugs will increase. We encourage all trade-practitioners to work harder," Sadou said.
For Mfoupou, Corocur is a dream-come-true, but he hopes to enhance his research to make more discoveries in the medical field.
