Fast Against Viruses

Our hypothesis is that there is a relationship between indigenous knowledge systems and survival strategies or the coping mechanisms of Ebola and Marburg virus survivors. According to Hewlett and Hewlett, past responses to Ebola epidemics in East Africa tended to ignore indigenous knowledge systems which they found to be part of the useful technologies in the fight against Ebola. Not taking indigenous knowledge systems seriously enough leads to suspicion in the communities that health care workers might not have their best interests at heart. This project aims to take the survival narratives of Ebola patients seriously enough by using a grounded theory approach to outline the major themes and perspectives that emerge from such narratives.

Specific Aims and Methodology:

The specific aim of the project is to receive more stories of how people survived Ebola in Africa to see how many of the stories contain direct or indirect references to fasting voluntarily or involuntarily. Given that there is scientific evidence that intermittent fasting could be therapeutic against viral infections, we propose to engage with communities struggling against Ebola epidemic in Africa by publicizing the information regarding the health benefits of water only fasting for 24-36 hours under medical supervision in clinics. Those patients who tried the fasting method will be compared with those who relied on only conventional treatment to see which group recovered faster. If the difference is significant as expected from the literature, then we plan to apply for huge grants from NIH and CDC to extend the project to wider populations struggling against viral infections in Africa. The survivors will be encouraged to share the story of how they survived to see how many would recognize water fasting as part of the technologies that facilitated their survival.

Methods:

The methodology will be consistent with Rubin’s Counterfactual Model of experimentation according to which: 

·       An observed treatment (fasting and bowel-movement skills tips) is given to an experimental group of 10 volunteers (5 may try water-only fast and 5 may try water and fruits fast) for 24-36 hours. The outcome of that treatment is Y(1)

·       The counterfactual is the outcome that would have happened Y(0) if the group did not receive the treatment, control group of 10 volunteers (no fasting).

·       An effect is the difference between what did happen to the experimental group and what happened to the control group (measured in speed of recovery from Ebola infection): 

Effect = Y(1) – Y(0) (cited in Shadish, Cook and Campbell, 2002). 

We plan to design a crowd funding web site to encourage people from around the world to practice Fast Against Viruses for 24-36 hours with water only and consider donating part of the money saved on food to the project of outreach to Africans in remote villages who may not be able to read and may not have access to the internet. We plan to reach out with the information that intermittent fasting is an effective intervention against the spread of viruses. Those who try the fasting method will be encouraged to share the health benefits anonymously on our web site. Poor people are so deprived that they would not consider intermittent fasting as an option in the face of political and economic crises. Our solution is cost-free and accessible to all and can be scaled up to whole countries or regions especially during the outbreak of viral infections. At this moment, there is Ebola outbreak in Uganda and Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea. Fast Against Viruses can help to halt the spread once and for all.

Globally, viral infections are a recurring decimal with Covid-19 claiming millions and Ebola springing up every now and then. Intermittent fasting is becoming more popular with websites offering different plans to subscribers. Our solution will be publicized and offered free of charge to all around the world who need this technology of the self. However, our initial focus will be those in Africa who lack access to modern healthcare facilities while facing threats of hunger and diseases. Intermittent fasting with water can be part of the solutions worldwide.

With a small internal grant, we are already collaborating with social workers in Uganda to publicize the benefits of water-only fasting as a solution to viral infections. We plan to apply for more funds from the CDC and the NIH to scale up this intervention and reach out to other parts of Africa. The outbreak of Marburg virus from the same family as Ebola in Equatorial Guinea has led us to reach out to the country's embassy in Washington D.C. to see if they will be interested in our solution. Our PI has published on this theme and has received anecdotal evidence from those who have tried the solution and found it effective. A graduate student and an undergraduate student are paid from the internal garnt to assist with the project and we hope that the project will attract interests from multidisciplinary colleagues who are ready to collaborate.

Approximately one million people in Uganda

Solve funding can help us to set up the website for Fast Against Viruses to publicize the benefits of intermittent fasting with water. With Solve funding, the CDC and NIH may be more interested in our solution.. With Solve funding, members of the public may be more likely to try our solution.

We rely on indigenous knowledge systems that are usually neglected  by researchers and policy makers. Our solution is drug-free and cost-free with no serious side-effects. Our solution is accessible to all.

We plan to publicize our solution across Africa and encourage policy makers to adopt it and motivate millions of people to try it together. We plan to follow up by monitoring public health indicators as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of our solution. We plan to present conference papers at the professional association meeting and receive feedback on the work in progress. We plan to submit proposals for major funding to scale up our solution.

Reduction in the frequency of viral infections in Africa; size and number of external grants awarded to the project; collaboration with multidisciplinary researchers; number of students mentored as research assistants; number of publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems demonstrate that there are solutions to be found in the worldviews of indigenous peoples. Theories from the South cal;l for the decolonization of knowledge and the ending of epistemicide among indigenous peoples

Technologies of the self involve biofeedback mechanisms of body language that the general public can learn and manage for self-efficacy in the face of inadequate access to healthcare services. 

We value diversity, equity, inclusiveness, and access in our team and our solution

We will adopt the free-ware model of social media to offer our solution cost-free to all those who want it Those who are satisfied will be  free to make a donation in support of the project

We will remain active in grants-seeking and we will welcome donations from those who benefitted from our solution

Our small internal grant has helped us to get started and we plan to apply to major grants from the CDC and the NIH. We also plan to welcome donations fropm those who nenefit from our solution.