Bird flu patients develop resistance to Tamiflu drug

The latest report carried on The New England Journal of Medicine, the world most prestigious medical periodical said that Vietnamese victims have developed resistance to Tamiflu, the key drug in combating bird flu marketed by Roche of Switzerland and several such cases have been confirmed dead in the country, raising public doubts over the curative effect of Tamiflu.

The report on The New England Journal of Medicine published by Menno de Jong and colleagues from the hospital for tropical diseases in Ho Chi Minh City said that four out of eight H5N1 bird flu patients who received Tamiflu treatment have died, including two who had developed resistance.

The report raised the estimated level of resistance to nearly 10 percent, that is to say three among 31 confirmed H5N1 virus carriers who received Tamiflu treatment would develop such symptom.

Such research has raised new public suspicion over the drug. Some 50 countries have order Tamiflu in large quantities in the past months as a prophylactic and treatment in case of the outbreak of the epidemic.

Another article on The New England Journal of Medicine called for alternative measures to combat the flu pandemic, including the rival drug zanamivir, or Relenza.

Dr. Anne Moscona wrote that individual stock of Tamiflu could be dangerous because it could lead to the insufficiency of doses and inadequacy of therapy, which could accelerate the development of resistance.

Roche said that it took the report seriously and intensified efforts in developing clinical research over Tamiflu on both human beings and animals, including larger doses and longer treatment. The pharmaceutical company also said that new result will be ready at the beginning of next year.

An official with Roche reiterated that people should take following facts into consideration when assessing any research findings about resistance or death of patients that the eventual strain of H5N1 virus is different from the current bird flu virus which has resulted in 139 cases of human infection of 71 death.

By People's Daily Online