Friday 04 12 09 07:18 UTC
Following recent reports of clusters of Tamiflu resistance, the WHO on Wednesday recommended that patients with severely weakened immune systems who become infected with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus receive additional antiviral treatment as needed throughout the duration of their illness, Agence France-Presse reports. " |
Friday 20 11 09 19:20 UTC
A strain of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu has spread between hospital patients.
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Friday 20 11 09 18:23 UTC
Health officials in Wales say a strain of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 swine flu has passed from person to person in a Cardiff hospital. The first news of this story was broken on this blog just a couple of hours ago. The National Public Health Service for Wales says that five patients at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff were all diagnosed with swine flu resistant to Tamiflu. All have severe underlying health conditions. Three appear to have acquired the infection in hospital.
We know that sporadic resistance to Tamiflu has developed in individuals being treated for swine flu. But this appears to be the first definite case in the world of person-to-person transmission of a Tamiflu-resistant strain. Another case reported in the United States by the CDC in September had a number of other possible explanations.
In truth it's not easy to be absolutely certain that there has been person-to-person transmission in Wales. Chris Lines, director of communications for Public Health Wales, said "we can't find any other explanation for this, so our confirmation of person-to-person spread is based on the lack of evidence of any other means of transmission."
He gave some more detail about the patients: "Of the five, two have recovered and been discharged having recovered. Of the three in hospital, one is in critical care and two are on the wards but being isolated from other patients."
So how important is this? Hopefully this will be a viral dead-end and it won't go any further. I'm told all the patients were immunocompromised and so especially vulnerable to developing Tamiflu resistance.
Dr Roland Salmon, director of the NPHS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, said: "The emergence of influenza A viruses that are resistant to Tamiflu is not unexpected in patients with serious underlying conditions and suppressed immune systems, who still test positive for the virus despite treatment."
Finally, just to stress, there's no evidence or suggestion that a "new" Tamiflu-resistant strain of H1N1 virus is now "out there" in the community. But public health officials in Wales will be very busy this weekend tracing contacts to ensure they have contained this among this small group of patients.
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Friday 20 11 09 17:56 UTC
 Resistant strain discovered in Cardiff hospital, prompting concern among health officials Doctors in Wales have discovered a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu that has been spreading from patient to patient in a Cardiff hospital. The emergence of an easily transmissible, resistant strain is a worrying development for health officials and appears to be the first documented case in Europe. Five patients at University Hospital Wales, in Cardiff, were infected and isolated for treatment. All had severe underlying conditions that left them with weakened immune systems. At least three had acquired the infection in hospital. There have been a handful of reported cases from around the world of Tamiflu-resistant strains of the H1N1 virus. Only one previous case, at a US summer camp, however, involved person-to-person transmission. The Cardiff patients have been treated with an alternative anti-viral drug. Two have recovered and been discharged and three others remain in hospital, one in intensive care. Dr Roland Salmon, the director of the communicable disease surveillance centre in Wales, said: "The emergence of [H1N1] viruses that are resistant to Tamiflu is not unexpected in patients with serious underlying conditions and suppressed immune systems, who still test positive for the virus despite treatment. "In this case, the resistant strain of swine flu does not appear to be any more severe than the swine flu virus that has been circulating since April. "For the vast majority of people, Tamiflu has proved effective in reducing the severity of illness. Vaccination remains the most effective tool we have in preventing swine flu so I urge people identified as being at risk to look out for their invitation to be vaccinated by their GP surgery." Any spread of a Tamiflu-resistant strain of the virus into the community would constitute a serious public health concern. The government recently reminded those who caught swine flu to take Tamiflu as a first line of medical defence. A Department of Health official in London said: "We take this development seriously, but the Health Protection Agency considers that the risk to the general healthy population is low. The Tamiflu-resistant virus has emerged in a group of particularly vulnerable individuals – this type of resistance is well documented. "Our strategy to offer anti-virals to all patients with swine flu is the right one – to help prevent complications and reduce the severity of the illness. We are keeping the situation under review."  Owen Bowcott
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
Friday 20 11 09 16:19 UTC
I am indebted to a loyal follower of this blog for tipping me off about a breaking news story in Wales.
Health officials in Cardiff are investigating the spread of a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu at University Hospital Wales. The strain has infected a small number of patients, all of whom have serious underlying health conditions.
Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, tells me that there have been 57 cases worldwide of people developing resistance to Tamiflu while taking the drug (seven of these in the UK).
But what happened at University Hospital Wales may be quite different. Here, someone developed resistance - and then, I understand, this strain appears to have been passed from person to person in the hospital.
There's been only one other similar case in the United States between two people at a summer camp, but the resistant strain did not spread any further. The CDC reported on this in September.
Health officials in Wales tell me that more tests are being carried out to confirm exactly what happened, and they are not yet confirming person-to-person spread.
All the patients are said to be recovering and being cared for in controlled environments, so there is no risk to anyone else.
Tamiflu is an antiviral and can reduce the risk of the complications of flu, as well as shortening the duration of the illness. The UK has enough doses for half the population. Any spread of a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu would be a serious public health concern - but there is no evidence to suggest that this has happened.
Obviously this is a developing story, and I'll bring you more when I get it.
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Friday 11 09 09 16:56 UTC
A PERTH man has become the first person in Australia to contract a strain of swine flu which is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu. |
Wednesday 05 08 09 00:53 UTC
PAHO on Monday announced it had found Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 (swine) flu along the Texas-Mexico border, Agence-France Press reports. The discovery of several cases in El Paso and McAllen, Texas, adds the U.S. to a growing list of countries with antiviral-resistant H1N1, such as Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong and Japan. "Experts had gathered in La Jolla on Monday to discuss the response to the outbreak, and warned that resistant strains were likely emerging because of overuse of antivirals like Tamiflu," the news service writes (8/3). |
Tuesday 28 07 09 08:04 UTC
Telegraph.co.uk
![]() Swine flu could become resistant to Tamiflu because of over ... |
Tuesday 28 07 09 03:42 UTC
Daily Mail
![]() Could Tamiflu 'overkill' make swine flu resistant?
Daily Mail
The mass use of Tamiflu could leave Britain all but defenceless against swine flu, doctors have warned. Peter Holden, the British Medical ... |
Tuesday 28 07 09 01:27 UTC
Swine flu could become resistant to the only drug that can treat the virus because it is being overprescribed. |
Thursday 09 07 09 21:55 UTC
![]() Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Found in Three World Regions, Health ... |
Wednesday 08 07 09 22:06 UTC
VietNamNet Bridge
![]() Experts Keep Wary Eye on Tamiflu-Resistant Swine Flu
U.S. News & World Report
WEDNESDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Health experts say they can't predict at this point how widely a new strain of swine flu resistant ... |
Wednesday 08 07 09 22:00 UTC
WHO has been informed by health authorities in Denmark, Japan and the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, China of the appearance of H1N1 viruses which are resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir (known as Tamiflu) based on laboratory testing. |
Wednesday 08 07 09 18:45 UTC
Straits Times
![]() Swine Flu: the rise of anti-viral resistance
Times Online
While much of the world's media obsesses about death tolls from the swine flu pandemic, more evidence has emerged today of what is arguably the more ... |
Wednesday 08 07 09 17:58 UTC
![]() Tamiflu-Resistant Swine Flu in US?
WebMD
A 16-year-old girl traveling from San Francisco was found to be infected with Tamiflu-resistant swine flu after triggering a ... |
Wednesday 08 07 09 16:20 UTC
8 July 2009 -- WHO has been informed by health authorities in Denmark, Japan and the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, China of the appearance of H1N1 viruses which are resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir (known as Tamiflu) based on laboratory testing. |
Wednesday 08 07 09 16:20 UTC
8 July 2009 -- WHO has been informed by health authorities in Denmark, Japan and the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, China of the appearance of H1N1 viruses which are resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir (known as Tamiflu) based on laboratory testing. |
Friday 03 07 09 16:32 UTC
Straits Times
![]() Tamiflu resistant swine flu case found in HK: govt
AFP
HONG KONG (AFP) — Hong Kong on Friday detected a strain of swine flu that was resistant to Tamiflu, the main anti-viral flu drug, the health department ... |
Thursday 02 07 09 22:31 UTC
Straits Times
![]() Tamiflu-resistant swine flu patient found
Brisbane Times
TOKYO - A genetic mutation of swine flu that is resistant to the antiviral Tamiflu has been discovered in Japan, the first such case in the country, ... |
Thursday 02 07 09 22:17 UTC
Malaysia Star
![]() Tamiflu-resistant swine flu patient found in Japan: govt
AFP
TOKYO (AFP) — A genetic mutation of swine flu that is resistant to the anti-viral Tamiflu has been discovered in Japan, the first such case in the country, ... |
Thursday 02 07 09 19:51 UTC
Javno.hr
![]() Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found in Japan: govt
PhysOrg.com
A genetic mutation of swine flu that is resistant to the anti-viral Tamiflu has been discovered in Japan, the first such case in the country, ... |
Thursday 02 07 09 10:20 UTC
 Health secretary Andy Burnham to make Commons statement on changes to way outbreaks are managed The government is due to announce a major change in its handling of swine flu outbreaks today, with the daily recording and reporting of cases expected to be abandoned because of the increasingly rapid spread of the virus. The health secretary, Andy Burnham, is due to make a statement on swine flu in the House of Commons just after midday. With the number of cases confirmed by laboratory tests set to exceed 7,000 today, it is likely that the policy of trying to contain the H1N1 virus may be abandoned in favour of "outbreak management". In swine flu hotspots such as London, the West Midlands and parts of Scotland, which have already moved to the outbreak management phase, diagnosis of the virus is now being done by doctors rather than laboratory testing and tracing the contacts of people with swine flu and the preventative use of anti-viral drugs has stopped. Anti-viral drugs are still being offered to all people with symptoms. Collating daily figures is proving time consuming but the government and other agencies recognise they still need other ways of regularly informing the public. Other countries already update their swine flu numbers less frequently, for instance, weekly or every other day. Among the options being considered by the government is weekly updates on the spread of the disease, with cases reported as a number per 100,000 of the UK population. This is how traditional flu cases are reported each winter, and with the NHS preparing for tens of thousands of swine flu cases a week by the end of this year, a similar system would be understood by public health experts. The Health Protection Agency yesterday announced another 342 patients in England have been confirmed with swine flu, while the figure for the UK as a whole rose to 6,929. The official statistics on the virus are likely to underestimate the true scale of infection in the UK because only a sample of patients in the hotspots now have a diagnosis of swine flu confirmed by lab tests. Furthermore many people are thought to have such mild symptoms they are not even bothering to contact their doctors and others are being treated in surgeries without being regarded as suspected swine flu cases. Although a bout of swine flu is currently causing less serious illness than traditional seasonal flu, three people with other serious health conditions in the UK have died after catching the virus and there are concerns that it could mutate into a more virulent form. The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has already warned that there may be tens of thousands of cases each week this autumn, because the virus is more likely to thrive in a colder climate. Meanwhile, senior doctors have warned parents not to take their children to "swine flu parties" in the hope that they catch the disease now and build up immunity. Although no firm evidence has emerged that these are taking place, the family website mumsnet.com has seen discussions between parents on whether they should deliberately expose their offspring to the virus in the same way that chickenpox parties are sometimes arranged to allow friends to have the once-only disease at a convenient time. Richard Jarvis, of the British Medical Association's public health committee, said: "I think parents would want to take into account that the flu – although this strain is relatively mild for the most part – is something that will knock people off their feet for a few days and we are seeing appreciable morbidity, severe side-effects and sadly the occasional death." Scientists have found the first case of the new H1N1 influenza strain showing resistance to Tamiflu, the main anti-viral flu drug, Danish officials and the manufacturer said yesterday. It was expected that the strain would at some point show resistance to Tamiflu, Denmark's State Serum Institute said. The patient is now well and no further infection with the resistant virus had been detected. Swine fluHealthNHSHealth policyFluHealth & wellbeing  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
Wednesday 01 07 09 18:13 UTC
Straits Times
![]() Tamiflu Resistance Case Confirmed
UKMedix Health News
The person who contracted the H1N1 swine flu virus has recovered from the illness but in his case the Tamiflu was not effective. Mr. David Reddy who heads ... |
Wednesday 01 07 09 16:16 UTC
World News
![]() WHO Insists Tamiflu-Resistant Swine Flu Is Isolated Case
RedOrbit
The swine flu has been declared as a global pandemic by the United Nations agency, and up to this point it has proven to be treatable with the drug Tamiflu ... |
Wednesday 01 07 09 09:01 UTC
Straits Times
![]() First case of Tamiflu resistance in swine flu emerges in Denmark
Indian Express
The Danish case, a contact of someone who caught swine flu abroad, was given Tamiflu as prophylaxis to prevent her getting sick, but she still developed ... |
Tuesday 30 06 09 21:59 UTC
National Post
![]() Tamiflu-Resistant Swine Flu Emerging
Newsinferno.com
A Tamiflu-resistant strain of Swine Flu—the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus—has emerged in Denmark. According to Bloomberg.com, Tamiflu drug maker Roche Holding AG ... |
Tuesday 30 06 09 10:17 UTC
I've been investigating news emerging from Denmark of a case of resistance to the antiviral Tamiflu - the main weapon against H1N1 swine flu.
If a resistant strain of H1N1 swine flu starts circulating it would be a concern. Britain has invested a huge amount in its stockpile of Tamiflu and will eventually have enough to treat eight in 10 of the population.
If it doesn't work in many people that would be a setback, but remember that the vast majority of people who've been infected with H1N1 swine flu have had a self-limiting illness and have overcome it without antivirals.
If resistance emerges it would also mean that the virus is mutating (as all flu viruses do) and there may be questions about what other surprises it might have in store in the months ahead.
So what actually happened in Denmark?
 David Reddy, Roche's pandemic taskforce leader, said although Tamiflu-resistant isolates had been obtained from a patient it looks as though this was drug-induced.
This means that the virus developed resistance while the patient was taking Tamiflu. There were other patients in the same cluster outbreak and no resistance to Tamiflu was found in any of them.
The phenomenon of drug-induced resistance is quite different from having a Tamiflu-resistant strain in circulation. By contrast there has been a Tamiflu-resistant strain of H1N1 seasonal flu in circulation since 2008.
"There is no sign yet of a Tamiflu resistant strain (of H1N1 swine flu) circulating" said Mr Reddy. "We fully expect to see more cases where the virus may begin to develop resistance while people are taking the drug."
This is the statement that Roche has put out:
Roche is providing comment on the report of an oseltamivir resistant isolate of an influenza A(H1N1) obtained from a single patient in Denmark. Roche reiterates that such resistant isolates in people on the drug is to be expected, as resistance at a rate of 0.4% and 4% was observed in adult and paediatric populations respectively in the phase III studies.[1]
It is therefore expected that in some patients receiving antiviral medication, resistant virus will emerge. However, it is important to note that this does not mean that the currently circulating pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus is resistant. Ongoing testing shows that other currently circulating pandemic virus remains susceptible to Tamiflu.
Communications from Denmark indicated that this was not unexpected and was not a reason to change recommendations on the use of Tamiflu. WHO recommendations remain unaltered.
In addition to monitoring by government agencies, WHO and other public institutions, Roche recently initiated the global Influenza Resistance Information Study (IRIS), which will include 1,200 patients per influenza season from 2008-2011 and will assess the clinical impact of naturally-occurring and drug-induced resistance to antiviral drugs.
Roche also continues to support the activities of the Neuraminidase Inhibitor Susceptibility Network. /strong> Aoki FY, Boyvin G and Roberts N. Influenza virus susceptibility and resistance to oseltamivir. Antivir Ther 2007; 12:603-616
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Tuesday 30 06 09 00:50 UTC
KLEW
![]() First resistance to swine flu treatment revealed
The West Australian
The first case of resistance to Tamiflu, considered to be the most effective treatment for swine flu by the World Health Organisation, has been reported in ... |
Monday 29 06 09 22:38 UTC
GulfNews
![]() Roche, CDC Say Tamiflu Still Works On Swine Flu
Wall Street Journal
VX) and the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they still consider Tamiflu effective against the A/H1N1 "swine flu" virus, ... |
Monday 29 06 09 20:40 UTC
The first case of resistance to Tamiflu considered to be the most effective treatment for swine flu by the World Health Organisation has been reported in Denmark. |
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