The Los Angeles Times
(12/29, Kaplan) "Booster Shots" blog reports that in Australia, which
has "wrapped up its flu season months ago," public health officials are
concerned by the finding that "in and around the Australian city of
Newcastle, the Tamiflu [oseltamivir]-resistant H1N1 virus was spreading
more easily among humans, according to a report
being published in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of
Medicine." In a sample of 182 patients, 29 (16%) were resistant.
"Genetic analysis of the flu samples revealed that all of the 29
patients were infected with a single strain," but experts are unsure how
the strain was spread, since many patients "had no known epidemiologic
link." Researchers "warned flu experts in the Northern Hemisphere to be
on the lookout for this flu strain – or any other strain that is
resistant to Tamiflu – this winter."
HealthDay
(12/29, Mozes) reports that the resistant virus was also resistant to
"an older class of adamantine treatments (rimantadine and amantadine)."
However, "the resistant strains remained 'fully sensitive' to treatment
with another drug, Relenza (zanamivir)." Researcher Aeron C. Hurt, of
the World Health Organization, noted that in 2007/2008, when "the
pandemic 2009 A(H1N1) flu strain" developed resistance, "within 12
months
the virus had spread globally, such that virtually every A(H1N1) virus
around the world was resistant to [Tamiflu]." He expressed concern that
a similar situation will occur with this strain.
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