H1N1 Pandemic Flu and Ineffectiveness of Tamiflu

If the behaviour of the seasonal form of the H1N1 influenza virus is any indication, scientists say that chances are good that most strains of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus are resistant to Tamiflu, the main drug stockpiled for use against it.

Many researchers, including the Ohio State University, have traced the evolutionary history of the seasonal H1N1 influenza virus, which first infected humans during the 1918 pandemic. It is one of three seasonal influenza A viruses that commonly infect humans. The others are H1N2 and H3N2.

Within H1N1, two strains of virus circulate in humans: a seasonal form and the pandemic form of influenza known as swine flu, which has recently sickened millions and killed hundreds of people since it first emerged in North America last spring.

Over time and in line with normal virus behaviour, the H1N1 strain of seasonal influenza develops mutations that have caused it to become resistant to oseltamivir-based agents. Tamiflu is one of these oseltamivir phosphate.

It is a safe bet that whatever pressure is in the environment, excessive use of Tamiflu or something similar, driving seasonal influenza to become resistant to treatment, is also going to apply to pandemic influenza. It is happening already.

Tamiflu was never the long term solution nor was it as effective as it was claimed to be. The world awaits a more effective and better product to replace it.

H1N1: UKs BMJ Report Extreme Doubts over Tamiflu results

UK medical experts from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) are questioning the effectiveness of antiviral drug Tamiflu commonly used against the swine flu virus spreading across the globe, according to a study reported in Britain Tuesday.

An investigation by the British Medical Journal acknowledges that the drug oseltamivir, which trades as Tamiflu, has "a very modest effect in reducing flu symptoms and infectivity in otherwise healthy adults."

But "researchers say there is insufficient published data to know if oseltamivir reduces complications in otherwise healthy adults," the media groups said in a joint statement.

The use of flu drugs like oseltamivir has increased dramatically since the A(H1N1), or swine flu, pandemic began in April 2009, with government rushing to stockpile treatments while persuading people to have vaccinations.

The global death toll since the virus was uncovered in April approached 8,770 in early December, with confirmed infections in 207 countries, according to World Health Organisation figures.

Claims about the effectiveness of drugs like Tamiflu against flu complications have been a key factor in governments' choosing to spend millions of dollars to hoard them, the British Medical Journal said.

The British government has spent about 500 million pounds (813.9 million dollars) on such drugs, they said.

But research on the drugs by scientists from Australia's Bond University was hampered by a "paucity of good data" available from Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche that produces oseltamivir.

"As a result, they conclude that they have no confidence in claims that oseltamivir reduces the risk of complications of influenza in otherwise healthy adults, and believe it should not be used in routine control of seasonal influenza."

The researchers called on governments to set up studies to monitor the safety of drugs like Tamiflu, which are called neuraminidase inhibitors.

A team from the University of Birmingham concluded meanwhile that oseltamivir may reduce the risk of pneumonia in otherwise healthy people who contract flu.

"However, the absolute benefit is small, and side effects and safety should also be considered," the statement said.

Professor Nick Freemantle from the University of Birmingham said he saw "very little evidence to support the widespread use of oseltamivir in the otherwise healthy population who are developing signs of influenza-like illness."

"We have remarkably few resources in this country to spend on pharmaceuticals on health and it's surprising to see such widespread use of oseltamivir," he said.

British Medical Journal editor-in-chief Fiona Godlee warned that the review left unresolved important questions about effectiveness of the drugs.

"Governments around the world have spent billions of pounds on a drug that the scientific community now finds itself unable to judge," she said.

Roche has estimated sales of 1.6 billion pounds this year alone from the drug, the statement said.

H1N1: UKs BMJ Report Extreme Doubts over Tamiflu results

Research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has confirmed that the antiviral oseltamivir, is only effective in reducing by 1 day, the time people have symptoms. It also confirmed that there was no evidence that oseltamivir prevented the most fatal complications, pneumonia.

It comes after the Government and GPs failed to reach an agreement on the swine flu vaccination programme for under-fives, with health visitors and district nurses now set to be asked by local NHS managers to step in.

The BMJ research has questioned the validity of research from Roche, the pharmaceutical giant that makes Tamiflu.

More than a million courses of antivirals including Tamiflu have been given out to people across Britain since the start of the swine flu pandemic.

A review of 20 existing studies was carried out by a team led by experts from the Cochrane Collaboration, which last reviewed the evidence in 2005. Their updated study found Tamiflu "did not reduce influenza-related lower respiratory tract complications".

The drug was found to induce nausea while evidence of adverse reactions to the drug were "under-reported", they said.

Tamiflu was claimed to be effective in treating people preventatively, i.e. after they had come into contact with somebody who was infected, and shortened the length of symptoms in those with swine flu.

But the study criticised some of the evidence available and said Roche had not been able to "unconditionally" provide the information needed. As a result, the team dropped eight trials that were included in their earlier review because they were unable to independently verify the findings.

This leads to further speculation that the mass innoculation of peoples is commercially based, adding to the profits of the pharmaceutical companies, without there being sound medical evidence to back it up.

The power of the pharma lobbyists is such that this conspiracy to defraud the public has extended into the medical and political hierarchy and large incentives are being offered to executives, politicians and medical authorities that support the exploitation of this pandemic.

H1N1 Swine Flu: A Serving UK Soldier dies after contracting the virus

A serving UK soldier has been revealed as the latest patient to die after contracting H1N1, swine flu virus.
Bombardier Lee Porter, from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, died last week, two weeks after contracting the bug - it is reported that he had underlying health problems.

The 30-year-old member of the Royal Artillery is thought to be the first UK serviceman to have fallen victim to the bug.

According to the announcement, Bombardier Porter died on Friday at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey, making him the 28th person known to have died after getting swine flu in England.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "It is with great sadness that the MoD must confirm the death of Bombardier Lee Porter, who contracted Swine Flu two weeks ago, which complicated existing health problems. Our thoughts go out to his family, who were at his bedside at the time."

110,000 New Cases
The latest figures on swine flu show that cases of the virus "may have plateaued", according to the Government. Their data, released today, showed that there were 110,000 new cases in England last week.

That represents a 10 per cent rise on the 100,000 new cases estimated in the previous weeks. Twenty seven people in England have died from swine flu, while 793 patients are being treated in hospital, that figure is down on the 840 of last week.

UK Schoolgirl on Life-Support
A British schoolgirl being treated in Greece for swine flu is on a life support machine but is showing signs of improvement and is said to be 'a little better.'

Natasha Newman, 16, from Highgate, north London, is in an Athens hospital after falling ill on the island of Cephalonia. Doctors at the intensive care unit of Penteli Children's Hospital described her condition as 'serious but stable.'

Pneumonia
One doctor, who did not wish to be named, said: "She has better lung function than yesterday and the day before. She has pneumonia, which is not something easy, but she has no lasting damage to her lungs and she is not in a dangerous condition."

Young Children suffer Tamiflu side-effects

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More than half of children taking Tamiflu suffer side-effects such as nausea, insomnia and nightmares, researchers have said.

Two studies from experts at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed a "high proportion" of British schoolchildren reporting problems after taking the anti-viral drug.

Data was gathered from children at three schools in London and one in the South West who were given Tamiflu earlier this year after classmates became infected.

The researchers behind one study said that, although children may have attributed symptoms that were due to other illnesses to the use of Tamiflu, "this is unlikely to account for all the symptoms experienced".

Their research, published in Eurosurveillance, looked at side-effects reported by 11 and 12-year-old pupils in one school year in a secondary school in South West England. The school was closed for 10 days in response to a pupil being confirmed with swine flu on return from a holiday in Cancun, Mexico.

A total of 248 pupils took part in the study and were given Tamiflu prophylactically. Compliance with prophylaxis was high, with 77% of children taking the full course, the researchers said. But they added: "Fifty-one per cent experienced symptoms such as feeling sick (31.2%), headaches (24.3%) and stomach ache (21.1%).

The researchers said "likely side-effects were common" and the "burden of side-effects needs to be considered" when deciding on giving Tamiflu to children prophylactically. The researchers concluded that a "high proportion of school children may experience side-effects of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) medication".

H1N1 - Swine flu claims fourth UK victim

© ITN 2009 An H1N1 swine flu sufferer has died in London, health officials have announced.

This is the fourth person to die in the UK is understood to have been a 19-year-old man from south London who had serious underlying health problems. He died on Wednesday and tests afterwards found he had the virus.

His was announced a day after it was revealed that the number of new cases could reach 100,000 per day by the end of next month.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson, who confirmed on Thursday that the UK has moved past the stage of containing the swine flu outbreak and into the "treatment phase", said there was no need for people to resort to the internet to self-medicate amid fears over the spread.

He said Britain had a massive stockpile of the now discredited, Tamiflu and would be one of the first countries to have access to a new potent vaccine, when the first supplies started arriving at the end of August, if all goes well with the testing and certification. By which time, the virus is likely to will have burned itself out and the death toll will have risen dramatically.

H1N1 Pandemic: Tamiflu proven ineffective

The National Health Board of Denmark has announced the first public declaration of pandemic H1N1 flu resistance to the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

They stress, though, that "there is no evidence" that the virus has spread, but further mutation is normal.

Although this case is said to be isolated, it throws further doubt on the doubtful and knee-jerk policy, introduced in most European countries, of giving low doses of Tamiflu to people in contact with infected people. Although, this is politically safe and very desirable and lucrative for the pharmaceutical companies, it is certainly not the correct strategy neither is it addressing the problems. It also allows the virus to mutate and develop resistant strains.

The Danish case, a contact of someone who caught swine flu abroad, was given Tamiflu as prophylaxis to prevent her getting sick, but she developed symptoms anyway. She was then given Relenza, another antiviral drug, and recovered but there is evidence that she would have recovered anyway.

The State Serum Institute in Copenhagen found that her virus carried a mutation giving further resistance to Tamiflu, and assumes (guessed) this emerged during treatment (contamination) rather than having been there already. Unfortunately, this guessing approach is not very scientific or clinical and is neither conclusive or acceptable as evidence based. There inability to prevent contamination is also worrying.

In defending the product and himself, David Reddy, head of the pandemic taskforce at Swiss company Roche, which produces Tamiflu says "Such a development is no surprise from a scientific point of view. Like antibiotics, antiviral drugs favour the survival of resistant strains."

Meaning, that Tamiflu has become even more ineffective against the resistant virus, than the original one, allegedly.