• Tian Shengxun displays his immunity booster.

By CHARLES SIMENGWA –
“MY heart lies in Zambia where I hope to come and work once again,” says Tian Shengxun, who is best known for his Tian Immunity Booster.
The Tian Immunity Booster, commonly referred to as TIB, is an extraction of plant and animal substances packaged in tablet or capsules form which Professor Tian says is an HIV therapy.
It has been a long road for Prof Tian, who was first sent to Zambia as part of the Chinese medical expert team in 1990.
“My first posting was at Kabwe General Hospital in Central Province, and thereafter I opened the first Chinese clinic in Lusaka in 1993,” he said in an interview.
There was an uproar among the Zambian medical community over Prof Tian’s claim of having an AIDS cure, with some calling for the closure of his surgery in the upmarket suburb of Kabulonga in Lusaka.
He, however, persevered and, after some two decades, he has carved himself a good reputation in Kenya, where TIB is receiving positive reviews in the local media.
In an article published by News from Africa on October 9, 2015, George Okore noted that Chinese scientist Youyou Tu, who won the 2015 Physiology – Medicine Nobel Prize, has bolstered the place of traditional Chinese medicines.
The prestigious prize, according to Okore, has generated debate on Western science versus traditional Chinese medicines – or TCMs – being fronted as sure health packages for resource-constrained Africa.
Dr Youyou, 85, a chief scientist at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, has changed the perception of TCMs as alternative medicines, especially in low economies.
Her research on artemisinin led to her discovery in therapy against malaria, a disease responsible for millions of deaths in Africa annually.
Artemisinin, also known as qinghaosu in Chinese, and its semi-synthetic derivatives are a group of drugs that possess the most rapid action of all current drugs against Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Such international recognition has helped shift attention to other herbal concoctions, especially TIB, which is hailed as a proper and real solution to HIV/AIDS and related complications like tuberculosis.
TIB is already delivering a new approach to effective and new HIV medicines, thus supporting those affected by the pandemic.
Prof Tian, who was recently in Lusaka on a working visit, says, as an alternative HIV/AIDS therapy, patients using TIB could survive for more than 15 years.
Studies conducted on TIB by Josef Schneider at Freiburg University in Germany, and similar studies by Peter Nara of Biological Mimetics Inc in Maryland State, in the United States of America, showed that the drug could slow down the replication of HIV.
Other laboratory tests have been carried out in the United Kingdom and Japan with amazing scientific results.
TIB is manufactured through modern technology as proper compounds extracted from more than 30 different pure Chinese herbs.
It has multiple and powerful anti-viral and anti-bacteria functions. Therefore, it can handle most of the opportunistic infections (OPIs) linked to lower immunity or HIV/AIDS.
TIB products are fusion inhibitors killing the HIV virus at the beginning of infection. TIB blocks the fusion taking place between the HIV and CD4 cells, which means that it can stop HIV from infecting CD4 cells.
Since 1960, Chinese medical teams have made contributions to the improvement of local health conditions in African countries.
This has spurred Africans to understand the efficacy of TCMs. Furthermore, several African countries have passed legislation to recognise Chinese supplementary medicine, especially acupuncture.
For example, South Africa has officially incorporated TCM into its health care system and all herbal products are to be lawfully registered.
Prof Tian said it was necessary to understand the differences between conventional anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) and natural ARVs.
“First of all, conventional ARVs can just suppress the replication of the HIV inside the body by interfering with the enzymes which are used for the multiplication of the virus.
“These ARVs have nothing to do with OPIs apart from the toxicity and side-effects. That is why people are still dying though they are taking these ARVs; roughly two million people are dying every year,” he said.
According to Prof Tian, who has practised medicine since 1982 when he graduated from university, HIV will rapture, or die, within 72 hours if HIV fails to access the CD4 cell.
“Conventional ARVs should be taken the entire life time and at the same time, drug resistance is easily produced during medication.
“But TIB products are not a life-time treatment. Commonly, six months or so is advised as the minimum course. The TIB therapy can be resumed any time whenever is necessary, and it still works properly,” said Prof Tian, who still gets online requests from patients in Zambia for more information on the drug.
He said TIB is an effective and non-toxic immune booster, critical to building and restoring the immune functioning of patients who have been living with HIV/AIDS for a long time without medication, as well as those on other treatments with little progress to better health.
The studies show that patients on TIB recorded increased CD4 cell counts, particularly CD8 cell count, which is the most important marker of immune function and immunity levels.
TIB has been registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board under the Ministry of Health in Kenya, a development that has elated Prof Tian.
He has been using his invention TIB modern Chinese medicine to treat complicated diseases such as heart, kidney and liver problems, tumour, and anaemia, with remarkable outcomes.
The drug has also been granted international patent certificates from China, Africa and the European Union.
“TIB products have been applied at the TB clinic at Kenyatta National Hospital and the clinical results are so good and very promising.
“The patients recorded improved health while coughing, fever and chest pains disappeared,” he said.
Prof Tian said despite the recognition his services continue receiving in the East African country, he would still love to return to Zambia – a place he calls home – to assist other people in need.