Four patients at Duke University Medical Center have been confirmed to have a strain of the swine flu which is resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamilfu. The patients are all adults and had been in isolation for six weeks. Three have subsequently died due to complications of the flu as reported by WRAL.com. All four had underlying conditions which weakend their immune systems.
Tamiflu is one of two drugs most commonly used to treat patients with the flu. If this resistant strain of H1N1 spreads, this could make treating it much more difficult and it may become more deadly. So far all confirmed cases of Tamilflu resistant H1N1 still respond to the second antiviral drug Relenza.
Both these drugs affect the virus by blocking proteins which it needs to flourish. Early treatment (within 48 hours) after symptoms appear seems to provide the best results. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people who are currently ill or with an underlying medical condition should start immediately or as soon as symptoms appear, not waiting for further testing.
The doctors at Duke say there is no immediate reason for concern and that this drug resistant strain has been confined to the hospital as reported by Time Magazine.
In the mean time, people need to be more diligent than ever to protect themselves with hand washing, avoiding those who are ill and keeping their immune systems strong through proper diet and rest.
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