North Korea Claims Kumdang-2 Drug Can Cure MERS, AIDS, Ebola, SARS & More
North Korean leader Kim Jung Un claims that they have developed a new miracle drug that can cure MERS, AIDS, Ebola, SARS and many more.
Kumdang-2, the alleged miracle drug is made from specially cultivated ginseng grown with fertilizer mixed with rare-earth elements and "micro-quantities of gold and platinum," according to its website kumdang2.com.
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the herbal medicine can "easily treat malicious virus infections like SARS, Ebola, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) because the diseases are related to the immune system."
"The researchers insert rare earth elements (REE) into insam (ginseng) by applying the micro-elementary fertilizers of REE to the fields of insam. Inside the herbal body of insam the REE had got combined with the saccharides into desired complex compounds," according to a representative of The Pugang Pharmaceutic Company, the developer of the vaccine, in a press release.
In addition to diseases mentioned above, Kumdang-2's official website also claims that the drug can also cure other conditions including:
- Allergic skin diseases
- Injuries by freezing, burns, and electric shock
- Engorgement
- Diabetes
- Different kinds of inflammation
- Child-delivery disorders
- Drug addiction
- Bird flu
- Gastic hemorrhage
- Stomach cramps
- Heart diseases
- Rheumatic arthritis
- Hypotension
- Liver disorders
- Neurosis
- Insomnia
- Pancreatitis
- Thyroid Diseases
- Polyps
- Gangrene
However, no peer reviews have been published or released by North Korea and it is likely that the claims will be received with skepticism.
According to ABC News, the communist state have been developing and testing the so-called miracle drug since 1989. The same drug was previously announced by the country during the deadly bird flu outbreaks in 2006 and 2013, the Guardian reports.
With the MERS outbreak in South Korea, the northern country is reportedly tightening its security measures by increasing screenings at all border crossings and airports, according to Tech Times.
This isn't the first time that North Korea took drastic measures to prevent a potential outbreak in the country. At the height of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the country closed itself from international tourists for fourth months in an effort to quarantine itself from the virus, reports ABC.
South Korea's health authorities said Monday that there have now been 27 deaths from MERS and three new confirmed cases which brings the total number of people infected by the virus to 172. The latest deaths were from octogenarians with underlying health conditions, according to Reuters.