foodconsumer.org: Some H1N1 Strains Showing Tamiflu Resistance

Some H1N1 Strains Showing Tamiflu Resistance
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admin on 10/12/2009 22:26:00
 
By Rachel Howell Stockton  - rachels at foodconsumer dot org
The problem with effective antibiotics and antiviral medications is that
bacteria and viruses, over time, can circumvent "the enemy" by mutating and
becoming resistant to them.  That seems to have happened with 31 strains of the
H1N1 virus; they are immune to Tamiflu, according to the World Health
Organization.  The good news is that so far, those strains are still susceptible
to other antiviral medication on the market , Relenza.
Another current issue to be reckoned with is that pharmacies are reporting
shortages of Tamiflu; this is partially due to the new protocol the CDC has come
up with to "manage" information and patient care during this flu season.  The
agency relies on state and local health departments to keep them apprised of
hospitalizations and deaths from the flu.  Some states provide them with only
laboratory confirmed H1N1 illnesses, while other states are not so exact.
The CDC is allowing other states to provide them with information on the number
of patients who are presenting with "flu-like" symptoms.  So, in reality, there
is no confirmation that a patient is suffering from the seasonal flu, the swine
flu, or some other respiratory ailment.
Despite the fact that it may not be clear whether a patient actually has the flu
or not, those patients are automatically given Tamiflu (oseltamivir) to combat
their illness.  The result is that pharmacies are beginning to run out of the
medication.
Tamiflu Shortage and Resistance
Aside from the shortage predicament, randomly prescribing Tamifu to patients who
may not, in fact, have the flu is a precarious situation.  In 2005, an article
in the New England Journal of Medicine had this to say about such dispensing of
the antiviral medication: " . . .  enabling ill people to stay home [by
prescribing Tamiflu] and out of waiting rooms and pharmacies should limit the
spread of influenza. So it is not surprising that many believe there should be a
supply of oseltamivir in every medicine cabinet. This scenario, however, is
potentially dangerous. Misuse of the drug could rob us of the advantages that
neuraminidase inhibitors provide, by favoring the emergence of
oseltamivir-resistant influenza virus [emphasis mine]."
That seems to be what is occurring at this juncture.  Fortunately, at this point
there are no strains that are immune to Relenza.  However, the question that
begs to be answered is, of course, will there be?