Asian gecko: it can cure aids?

It argues that a lizard night in Asia can be used to treat HIV has led to a strong tree in smuggling reptiles, which he makes at risk, an environmental organization said Tuesday.

The question for the Tokay Gecko has skyrocketed in recent years after the online blogs, newspaper articles, and wildlife traders praised the use of the language of the lizard and the internal organs, as a miracle cure for the 'HIV, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia said in a report.

TRAFFIC said that such allegations were unfounded and "indicative of a great hoax." Philippine government in July, "warned that the use of geckos AIDS and the inability to treat the patient at risk.

"TRAFFIC is concerned about the dramatic increase in trade of these geckos. If the market continues to multiply, it could take years to repair the damage to both the gecko populations to recover," said Chris R. Shepherd, deputy director of regional traffic.

Geckos, popular as pets in Asia, have long been used as traditional medicines for diseases such as diabetes, asthma, skin diseases and cancer, the report said. Their bodies are dried and powdered for consumption. In parts of Asia, the Tokay wine or whiskey consumed energy.

The Tokay Gecko, each with its own orange spots, blue-gray skin, can reach up to 15.7 inches (40 centimeters) long. Reptiles eat insects and worms, parasites, allowing them to regulate and maintain the ecosystem.

TRAFFIC said that more than eight and a half tons of dried geckos are legally imported into the United States between 1998 and 2002 for use in traditional medicine. Many are sold in Asia and said Malaysia has emerged as a major center for the issue, particularly in China.

He said he believed geckos 1000 on the road to Malaysia were seized recently in Cambodia, while some were arrested for trying to close a million U.S. dollars from Thailand to Malaysia to get the lizards. Customs on the Indonesian island of Java has also recently foiled an attempt to dry Tokay Geckos its way to Hong Kong and China by using license expired smuggling.

Shepherd said the Tokay gecko was poorly protected by national legislation and the lizard to be protected by CITES, the Convention on the international endangered species before they die.