No hindu house in a village will be without a plant of Tulsi Ocimum sanctum . Surprising other religious groups in India also had their sacred plants.
I had this plant in my house in the hedge and surprisingly I never had the swine flue or any flue for the last 20 years. What is the correlation. The plant has strong insect repellent . It is also known as protector against radiation damage.
Devotees in temples get some holy water which is stored in container made or copper. The container of the copper is said to have germicidal properties. Remember famous Bordeaux mixtrue which was developed in France for the control of powdery mildew in grape yards, basically contained a mixture of CuSO4 and lime. Does copper provide some antimicrobial activity.
Mixture of copper water and Ocimum sanctum is given in all holy temples of India.
Does religion help men to survive better or man survives better because it follows religion.
Religion teaches love and love for nature.