foodconsumer.org: Researchers Find Tamiflu Resistant Viruses in UK and US

Researchers Find Tamiflu Resistant Viruses in UK and US
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admin on 11/22/2009 20:34:00
 
By Rachel Stockton
On Friday, the World Health Organization announced that there have been 57 cases
of Tamiflu resistant flu viruses worldwide.  The vast majority of those
mutations were caused by an anomaly in the patients themselves; they did not
spread from person to person.
However, four resistant cases at Duke University Medical Center and five in
Wales appear to have been spread from person to person in the hospital.
While the swine flu itself has been fairly mild thus far, researchers have been
concerned that once the virus mutates, it will become more virulent.  Such a
mutation could feasibly attack tissue more deeply and become resistant to
antiviral medications.
The virus has remained stable since the April outbreak; however, medical
researchers have been expecting the virus to mutate because that’s what flu
viruses do.  They morph into other forms that allow them to continue their
rapacious spread.
All of the Duke patients had been very ill before they came down with the flu;
they were all in wards for cancer patients and those with serious blood
infections.  The fact that their immune systems were sorely compromised
contributed to the severity of their illness.  This means that as far as the
general public is concerned, there is no direct threat at this point.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are
testing the Duke and Wales viruses to see if they are identical.
It’s important to note that the viruses are still susceptible to Relenza. 
Although three of the four Duke patients have died, the lone survivor is being
treated with the drug.