Swine flu fraud warnings issued as disease spreads

This CDC photo shows a legitimate pack of Tamiflu.

Federal health regulators have had a busy summer and fall identifying fake cures for swine flu and trying to get those bogus products of the market. How busy only become publicly known Thursday.

Since the swine flu hit last spring, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued more than 140 warning letters against companies that make and market "unapproved/uncleared/unauthorized products related to the H1N1 flu virus." In an unprecedented move, the FDA also joined with Federal Trade Commission on Oct. 15 to inform the operators of a Web site selling "fraudulent supplements that claim to help prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus" to cease doing so or face legal action. 

Consumers can gain a false sense of security when they use products that falsely purport to prevent or treat swine, according to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. Currently, only a vaccine and the antiviral medications Tamiflu (oseltamivir) from Roche and Relenza (zanamivir) from GlaxoSmithKline have been fully clinically tested and certified as wine flu therapies 

Alyson Saben, who leads the swine flu fraud team at FDA, told the Associated Press that patients who order Tamiflu online without a prescription are putting their health at particular risk. Drug products bought over the Web often contain no active ingredients or harmful substances. 

Demand for Tamiflu and Relenza will probably spike over the next few weeks, as promised supplies of swine flu vaccine fail to materialize and cases of disease skyrocket. 

To help people protect themselves against fake swine flu treatments, the FDA has created a widget that lists bogus products. The agency will automatically the downloadable application often.

H1N1 Fraudulent Products

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• Swine Flu Vaccine Supplies to Fall Far Short of Projections