In the largest study of homeopathy ever conducted, researchers found that a homeopathic intervention effectively battled Leptospirosis. The study, conducted in 2007 on the entire population of Cuba (11 million people), was published in a recent issue of the journal Homeopathy.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infectious disease prevalent in tropical regions during periods of heavy rain; humans contract the disease through contact with contaminated water.

Each year, Cuba’s government forecasts possible trends of disease incidence. In late 2007, the government had only enough Leptospirosis vaccine to treat 15 000 high-risk people in the midst of a developing epidemic. Thus, the decision was made to treat the hardest-hit unvaccinated populations with a homeopathic medicine prepared from dilutions of 4 circulating strains of Leptospirosis. The Cuban National Vaccine Institute prepared the dilution and collected data to measure the impact of the intervention by comparing the data to historical trends and data from nonintervention regions.

The homeopathic medicine was given to the 2.3 million inhabitants of the 3 provinces most prone to outbreaks. Within a month, the number of Leptospirosis cases had fallen from the forecast of 38 cases per 100 000 per week to 4 cases per 100 000 per week, significantly fewer than the historically based forecast. The 8.8 million residents of the other provinces did not receive homeopathic treatment, and the incidence of the disease unspooled there as forecast.

Although more research is warranted, this large study has shed light on the possibility of reducing disease incidence and controlling epidemics safely via use of homeopathy.

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