Can homeopathy withstand scientific testing?

Abstract

What is the importance of homeopathy in veterinary practice? The television appearance of E.L. Ellinger (DVM) during the Foot and Mouth (FMD) crisis in 2001 gave an insight into the views held by veterinarians practicing homeopathy. And we can be confident these views were representative because Ellinger is not just anybody; she is an active member of the Group of Homeopathic-practicing Veterinarians of the Royal Dutch Veterinary Society, the Dutch representative for the International Association for Veterinary Homeopathy (IAVH) and, in 2001, she was a guest lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht. It was 4 April 2001 when she was interviewed on the RTL5 television programme "5 in het land". The FMD crisis was at its peak and there was considerable debate about whether the large-scale slaughter of animals could be prevented by vaccinating those that were susceptible in risk areas. Despite widespread support among Dutch people for this approach, it would have had a devastating effect on the meat export industry and was therefore not an option. Ellinger, however, was offering an alternative: she had prepared a homeopathic remedy that would protect against FMD without the production of antibodies, thus allowing exports to continue. Although she advised this 'homeopathic protection' be given to all animals within a 15 km radius of contaminated areas, her suggestion was not taken up, undoubtedly because of the complete lack of evidence that her remedy protected against FMD. There are other areas of veterinary medicine in which homeopathy is applied as though it were an accepted form of treatment. But what are the arguments for supporting this? Is there evidence that homeopathy really does work in these cases? To answer these questions, we must first consider the background of homeopathy as well as the commonly accepted methods of argumentation in medical science in general.