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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> There is one troubling aspect to the resistance developments however: One of the people who fell ill had had no known contact with Tamiflu.
"This is a little bit more disturbing," Treanor said. "It seems to be a spontaneously arising virus. How did that happen?"
More widespread resistance could come from one of two scenarios, Treanor said.
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The first would be if the virus develops mutations in people who are being treated with Tamiflu and then spreads to others.
The second would involve a random genetic reassortment, in which the new swine flu and the seasonal flu exchange genes. "The current seasonal viruses are resistant to Tamiflu," Treanor said. "We could see a get-together resulting in a hybrid which…potentially could be able to infect people more easily."
But it's also possible that changes in the genetic structure of the H1N1 swine flu virus could reduce the likelihood of transmission, Treanor said.
Gaglani stressed that, at this point, there is no evidence that the seasonal flu has mixed with the swine flu. That would be a concern because last year's seasonal flu was resistant to Tamiflu, she said.
"We need to monitor now what is circulating and what proportion are resistant to Tamiflu," Gaglani said. That will guide future treatment decisions.
There has been speculation that overuse of the drug has contributed to the new drug resistance but, at this point, that is another unknown, and people who fall ill do need to be treated.
"I don't know how much that's being driven by use of the drug," Treanor said. "I think the drug should be used where indicated. If resistance happens, it's going to happen, but we have to use medicine to treat sick people appropriately."
Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, thinks overuse of Tamiflu might be to blame for the limited resistance.
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