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Tamiflu resistance on US-Mexico border
According to the Dow Jones news , the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) has reported swine flu resistance to Tamiflu on the US-Mexican border in El Paso and close to McCallen, Texas. PAHO,, which serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, gave no specific details about the number of patients or the circumstances related to the appearance of resistance.
Cases of A(H1N1)swine flu resistant to the anti-viral drug have already been found in a San Francisco teen flying to Hong Kong. as well as individuals in Quebec, Denmark and Japan.
All of the patients except the US teen had taken Tamiflu as a preventive and then developed resistance.
The San Francisco teen probably had acquired a resistant strain before she was treated.
Health experts who met in La Jolla yesterday expressed concern that the resistance on the US border is related to over-use of Tamiflu which is sold without a prescription in both Mexico and Canada. In the US, patients must have a prescription for the anti-viral, although online they may not.
Given the concern that the swine flu could return to the US in the fall before a vaccine is available, it is important to have effective antivirals on hand. The public is urged not to start Tamiflu without consulting a physician. It is not a drug to take at the first sign of sniffles or cough.
Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu continues to put out press releases stating that, based on clinical trials, a 0.5 per cent rate of case resistance is to be expected, but that should not affect the ability of the drug to treat most cases of swine flu.
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