Vet Rec. 2016 Dec 17;179(24):628. doi: 10.1136/vr.103779. Epub 2016 Dec 12.
- 1Department of Animal Nutrition and Animal Health, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany.
Abstract
Homeopathy
is widely used in livestock, especially in order to reduce the use of
antibiotics, although it is often seen as controversial. A comprehensive
literature review has been conducted to assess the efficacy of homeopathy
in cattle, pigs and poultry. Only peer-reviewed publications dealing
with homeopathic remedies, which could possibly replace or prevent the
use of antibiotics in the case of infective diseases or growth promotion
in livestock were included. Search results revealed a total number of
52 trials performed within 48 publications fulfilling the predefined
criteria. Twenty-eight trials were in favour of homeopathy,
with 26 trials showing a significantly higher efficacy in comparison to
a control group, whereas 22 showed no medicinal effect. Cure rates for
the treatments with antibiotics, homeopathy
or placebo varied to a high degree, while the remedy used did not seem
to make a big difference. Looking at all the studies, no study was
repeated under comparable conditions. Consequently, the use of homeopathy
currently cannot claim to have sufficient prognostic validity where
efficacy is concerned. When striving for high therapeutic success in
treatment, the potential of homeopathy
in replacing or reducing antibiotics can only be validated if evidence
of efficacy is confirmed by randomised controlled trials under modified
conditions.
British Veterinary Association.
KEYWORDS:
Caprine athritis encephalitis virus (CAEV); Goats; Risk factors; Seroprevalence
