Studies Conducted By The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The study, to be released in Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID), reports that "that even a short course of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) can lead to antiviral resistance and that patients can develop resistance to peramivir, an alternative to oseltamivir in emergency situations."
The study results point out the need for the rapid development of new antiviral drugs that can fight the infection. The name of the genetic mutation found in some flu strains which has proven drug resistant is H275Y.
Said Dr. Matthew Memoli, co-head of the research team, "...but these cases of rapid appearance of drug-resistant 2009 H1N1 influenza in immune-compromised patients are worrisome and should prompt clinicians to reconsider how they use available flu drugs...As clinicians, we should carefully consider our treatment options and use all the drugs available to us wisely, This is especially important in a patient with prolonged infection or when an antiviral drug fails to cure the patient after the recommended course of treatment."
According to the World Health Organization, 267 cases of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 have been reported since the pandemic started last year.
The study will be out in the May 1 edition of CID.
Photo courtesy of Canada.com
Comments
The bigeer question is, is if we, the public, are being sold a bill of goods on the efficacy of drugs like Tamiflu. I seem to remember being slightly annnoyed when after spending a $60 copay, the insert said that it only reduced the symptoms by 20%, in other words you might be sick a day less. press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/december/Godlee.doc
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