From the June 2007 Idaho Observer:


West Nile virus and vitamin C

With the threat of West Nile Virus (WVN) and anticipated reports of people contracting WVN, it is important to make our readers aware of the success of administering intravenous sodium ascorbate, a non-acidic form of vitamin C. To prevent WNV, taking 4 grams (4,000 mg.) of sodium ascorbate daily and staying relatively healthy by eating whole foods, drinking pure water and avoiding refined carbohydrates keeps most people from contracting it. There are also many tips for avoiding becoming a magnet for mosquito bites. One sure tip is to take 100 mg. of B-1 (thiamine) daily. The following is taken directly from Dr. Robert F. Cathcart’s website at www.orthomed.com/Nile.htm

Dr. Cathcart: My experience with giving massive doses of ascorbic acid orally to over 25,000 patients and with giving intravenous sodium ascorbate to over 2,000 patients would indicate that with West Nile viral disease in general, and especially with the encephalitis, that intravenous sodium ascorbate should be used in doses beginning with at least 120 grams per 24 hours. If the fever is not controlled or the symptoms are not reduced, the dosage and the rate of administration should be increased until they are controlled. The doses of 120 grams per 24 hours would be administered in 2 bottles of lactated Ringer’s, D5W, or 1/2NS with 60 grams of sodium ascorbate (not ascorbic acid) added per 12 hours.

Do not be afraid of increasing the rate of administration. When I give one to two of these bottles in the office I have them run in 2 to 3 hours each. However, when administered in a hospital, the administration should be constant, around the clock at the rate and amount to eliminate the symptoms.

When I mention a rate that is administered in 24 hours, I mean just that, the rate. If the fever does not abate in the first 3 or 4 hours, the rate should be increased to whatever is necessary to break the fever. However, when the fever and other symptoms abate, then the rate of administration can be reduced.

Although some vitamin C for intravenous use is labeled ascorbic acid, it should be well buffered with sodium carbonate and/or sodium hydroxide and so is mostly sodium ascorbate. It should contain no preservatives. Pure sodium ascorbate solutions have a pH of 7.4 (physiologic, slightly alkaline) so do not worry about metabolic acidosis. Pure ascorbic acid is too acid to administer in any quantity intravenously.

The cover story of The Boulder Weekly (June 2004, Boulder, Colorado) had the following:

Meanwhile, as mainstream medicos grapple with funding and FDA-approvals for the perfect West Nile pill, those suffering from prolonged effects of the illness have sought respite in medical alternatives. Boulder resident Jack Butler, 68, contracted West Nile last summer while in his backyard. After a week of typical symptoms—persistent headaches, low-grade fever, confusion—Butler went to Boulder Community [hospital] and tested positive for West Nile.

Rather than accept the conventional approach that addresses the illness symptomatically, chasing the illness around the body with localized treatment, Butler came across information on the effectiveness of mega-doses of vitamin C, administered intravenously, in treating a variety of viral infections. He and other West Nile patients underwent the treatment with Denver-based medical researcher and IV-C-proponent Dr. Thomas E. Levy, and today both claim having no symptoms of the virus. In Butler’s case, one mega-dose of IV-C knocked out the virus in 30 hours.

The other patient, Boulder resident John Howard, 55, had chronic, prolonged effects six months after contracting the virus last July. After undergoing three consecutive sessions of IV-C, Howard claims to have no remaining symptoms. "It’s almost like a miracle," he says.

A conventionally trained doctor, Dr. Levy has spent the last decade researching and conducting clinical trials using mega-doses—50 to 150 grams at a time—of vitamin C to treat infectious diseases such as viral hepatitis, viral pneumonia, influenza and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. His most recent book, "Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases and Toxins," documents his findings and details the larger history of IV-C treatment over the past 80 years.

According to Levy, vitamin C in large doses has cured virtually every acute virus that he has treated. His research, however, makes a distinction between IV-C’s success in treating "acute" versus "chronic" illness. "We’ve cured acute hepatitis with IV-C, for instance, but we haven’t cured chronic hepatitis," says Levy. He says the evidence suggests that the effectiveness of IV-C treatment is predicated on whether or not you can get a high-enough dosage of the vitamin within the direct proximity of the virus.

"While I will not announce this is a cure for West Nile, I can say that the two cases I treated with IV-C have been successful," says Levy.

He and Butler have collaborated to fund a study on a handful IV-C and West Nile patients this season and are currently looking for viable subjects.

While Butler himself has become a strong proponent of IV-C, he harbors no delusions about what he is up against in its gaining acceptance in the wider, mainstream medical community. "There’s just no way a big drug company is going to spend a significant amount of money researching the benefits of vitamin C. In fact it would be a big embarrassment to them and a great boon to natural therapy if the word got out that vitamin C in mega-doses can help cure West Nile," he says.

Nor is it likely the FDA will endorse such therapy anytime soon. In the meantime, health officials maintain the public’s primary means of combating the virus is through mosquito control and self-protection.



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