June 30, 2009
Denmark Had Case of Drug Resistant H1N1 Flu
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Denmark’s National Board of Health confirmed that a patient had been treated in that country whose strain of the pandemic virus showed resistance to antiviral medication. This is the first instance where this has occurred.
According to David Reddy, an executive who directs the Roche Holding influenza task force, the patient recovered. Doctors in Denmark found no other patients with this strain.
“We know from seasonal flu that a proportion of patients can develop resistance,” Reddy said during a media conference call. Tamiflu studies , according to the scientist who works for the firm which manufactures the antiviral drug, have normal resistant factors , though, with seasonal influenza. The studies demonstrated that 0.4 percent of adults and four percent of children can have a resistant case.
Fortunately, in Denmark, the patient had been taking a low dose of the medication due to exposure from another patient. The virus had not mutated to form characteristics that made it resistant to Tamiflu.
Another antiviral drug --- Relenza (also known as zanamivir) --- produced by GlaxoSmithKline was effective against the swine flu case in Denmark.
A Virologist Professor in the United Kingdom stated: "I'm not surprised about this finding. The question is whether it is going to spread. We will soon know the answer."
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Denmark Had Case of Drug Resistant H1N1 Flu
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Denmark’s National Board of Health confirmed that a patient had been treated in that country whose strain of the pandemic virus showed resistance to antiviral medication. This is the first instance where this has occurred.
According to David Reddy, an executive who directs the Roche Holding influenza task force, the patient recovered. Doctors in Denmark found no other patients with this strain.
“We know from seasonal flu that a proportion of patients can develop resistance,” Reddy said during a media conference call. Tamiflu studies , according to the scientist who works for the firm which manufactures the antiviral drug, have normal resistant factors , though, with seasonal influenza. The studies demonstrated that 0.4 percent of adults and four percent of children can have a resistant case.
Fortunately, in Denmark, the patient had been taking a low dose of the medication due to exposure from another patient. The virus had not mutated to form characteristics that made it resistant to Tamiflu.
Another antiviral drug --- Relenza (also known as zanamivir) --- produced by GlaxoSmithKline was effective against the swine flu case in Denmark.
A Virologist Professor in the United Kingdom stated: "I'm not surprised about this finding. The question is whether it is going to spread. We will soon know the answer."
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Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
