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(Ivanhoe Newswire) Tamiflus ability to fight the flu appears to be fading, and fading fast.
According to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), resistance to the drug was noted in about 12 percent of tested samples of influenza A in the 2007-2008 flu season. That year, influenza A accounted for about 19 percent of all flu cases.
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This year, the drug is faring even worse. Preliminary data suggest about 98 percent of influenza A cases may be resistant to Tamiflu.
Last December the CDC issued new recommendations calling for doctors to consider patient testing and local influenza surveillance data on the types of influenza prevalent in their communities when determining whether to prescribe Tamiflu. The recommendations also offer suggestions on other antiviral drugs that could be used instead, or used in combination with Tamiflu to maximize its effect.
The emergence of [Tamiflu] resistance has highlighted the need for the development of new antiviral drugs and rapid diagnostic tests that determine viral subtype or resistance, as well as improved representativeness and timeliness of national influenza surveillance for antiviral resistance, write the authors.
Until science catches up with the flu virus, people may want to revert to old fashion ways to stop the spread. In an accompanying editorial Boston researchers David M. Weinstock, M.D., and Gianna Zuccotti, M.D., write, For now, the best tools to mitigate influenza infection are tried-and-true vaccination, social distancing, hand washing, and common sense.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, published online March 2, 2009
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