Branding treatment in India should be banned

A letter in this weeks BMJ reports on how researchers are urging rural clinics in India to stop the superstitious practice known as 'branding treatment'.

This practice, branding or inflicting burns over the body as a remedy for illnesses such as pneumonia, jaundice, and convulsions, is a harmful practice prevalent in rural India. Children and young babies are worst affected by this practice, which causes serious ill health and delays in seeking proper medical care.

After noticing that many young children attending a rural clinic had scars from branding over their chest the practice was investigated. Of 144 children under 5 years, 20 had been branded for either pneumonia or convulsions, and eight had been branded to protect against pneumonia. All of them belonged to Hindu families, illiterate parents, and families in lower socioeconomic groups. In-depth interviews with the parents of branded children and villagers revealed that all 28 children had been branded by a local native healer. The people believed that evil potions are released by this practice, curing the disease. Most of the parents interviewed had been branded in their childhood; this practice was traditional and carried on through generations.

Inflicting burns over normal children is a non-scientific painful procedure and is unacceptable, say the authors. Stringent laws should be enforced to ban this harmful practice.

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