Bee stings provide alternative therapy

Rateb Samour sees 250 patients a day whose complaints range from hair loss to cerebral palsy and cancer. But he is not a doctor and has never worked in a hospital.

Samour inherited the skill of bee-sting therapy from his father, who used to raise bees. Then in 2003, the agricultural engineer started to dedicate all his time to studying and developing the alternative medicine treatment of apitherapy, which uses all bee-related products, including honey, propolis - or bee glue used to build hives - and venom.

"I am treating serious and chronic diseases which have no cure in regular medicine, I have achieved excellent results," said Samour, an Egyptian-educated specialist in entomology and bees in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave.