Hydrogen peroxide: We were roasted over goat serum cure for HIV – Prof Dodoo recalls

Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Professor Alexander Dodoo, has recalled how people in the medical fraternity were berated years ago over a purported cure for HIV.

Ghanaweb monitored his submissions on Joy FM’s Newsfile program on Saturday, February 7; where he shared expertise on Ghana’s coronavirus fight – addressing among others issue of hydrogen peroxide use

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On the subject of controversies around medical discoveries, he said: “… this issue is not new in Ghana, way back in the early 2000s we had someone saying that goat serum cures HIV and most of us were roasted by saying that no matter the evidence you have, it must be evaluated independently, unbiasedly and scientifically.

“The advice is that in relation to its (hydrogen peroxide) use for the treatment of COVID, the answer is no. It is a very good antiseptic, it can be used by dentists and others who know how to mix it and to use it but for the general community, a lot of guidance is needed,” he stressed.

His position urging caution on the use of hydrogen peroxide was unanimously agreed to by other members of the panel. They all urged the scientific community to step up efforts to test the efficacy of the solution for treatment and or cure of the coronavirus.

So what exactly was the goat serum HIV cure about?

In September 2005, top officials leading Ghana’s fight against HIV/AIDS rejected claims that a goat serum tested in Ghana offered hope for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWA).

The officials, led by Prof. Fred Sai, Government Advisor on HIV/AIDS, said no conclusive clinical tests had been conducted on the product. They referred to a media report about the virtues of serum describing the report as false and amounting to deception of the population.

The dismissal was in recaction to a story carried in the September 6, edition of the Daily Graphic headlined: "Hope For HIV/AIDS Persons - New serum tested here proves effective."

"We are nowhere near beginning to hope... we are nowhere near turning the product into a drug," Prof Sai told a packed press conference. The Daily Graphic had reported that the goat serum could suppress and neutralise the HIV-2 strains in goats.

However, authorities at the Noguchi Memorial and Medical Institute, (NMIMR) at the time confirmed that tests conducted showed that the product could react on HIV-2 strain in goats, but the test were still preliminary.

Prof. Sai said although Ghana had reputable institutions and scientists, the promoters of the goat serum had refused to allow the product to go through "rigorous scientific testing."

September 2005 GNA report: Oficials debunk HIV cure claims