Now here's some very interesting reports on the 'resistance' of this virus. It looks like someone is determined to get Tamiflu and Relenza
sold...
Using single antiviral drugs to treat the current outbreak of swine influenza could result in the development of a resistant strain, a leading
flu researcher said here. The virus is, however, susceptible to the neuraminadase inhibitors, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).
The risk is high that a strain resistant to all of these drugs could develop as long as the disease continues to be treated with single medications,
Robert Webster, Ph.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, said at the conference on Influenza Vaccines for the World.
"We can't continue to use single antiviral drugs. . . . The virus will win the game,"
But it does go on to mention;
up to 67% of seasonal H1N1 influenzas in Norway were resistant to oseltamivir during the 2007-2008 flu season, according to Jennifer
McKimm-Breschkin, Ph.D., of CSIRO Molecular & Health Technologies in Australia.
This occurred even though Norwegian doctors made very little use of oseltamivir, illustrating the ability of resistance to develop without any drug
treatment.
www.medpagetoday.com...
Some reports are more 'advisory' rather than 'buy this drug..it works'...
Anti-viral drug Tamiflu must be used with care to avoid the new strain of swine flu developing resistance, an expert on infectious diseases has
warned.
www.swissinfo.org...
t
And some seem to not want to step into any unknown territory and get their feet wet...just in case.. but they are trying to d something and look as
though tax payers and share holders benefit...
On Wednesday, the CDC reported that influenza A H1N1 viruses from 13 patients with confirmed diagnoses of swine flu had been tested for
resistance to a variety of antiviral drugs. The good news was that all of the isolates were susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu)
and zanamivir (Relenza). However, all 13 were resistant to adamantane-based drugs (amantadine and rimantadine). Resistance to adamantane drugs (which
were developed first) has actually become quite widespread among flu viruses in general, so oseltamivir and zanamivir are commonly the drugs of
choice.
scienceblogs.com...
confirmed by the CDC...
This swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is sensitive (susceptible) to the neuraminidase inhibitor antiviral medications zanamivir and oseltamivir.
It is resistant to the adamantane antiviral medications, amantadine and rimantadine.
www.cdc.gov...
Or is it all just one big test???
An escalation of the outbreak will be a real-life experiment of how much protection the drugs provide should a flu pandemic erupt, said Brian
Currie, medical director for research at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and an infectious-disease specialist.
It's also a test of human behavior. After the 2001 anthrax scare, the antibiotic Cipro disappeared in six hours from Montefiore's pharmacy. Doctors
prescribed it for each other and for relatives.
Already, some flu victims in New York said, their pharmacies have run out of
Tamiflu.
www.philly.com...
This slightly earlier report does not do much in the way of helping to understand the actual truth behind any or all of the reports posted above,
which just all happen to be from around the 28/29th April
January 15th, 2009 By Kyung M. Song
One of the major strains of the influenza virus this season has become resistant to Tamiflu - rendering the mainstay antiviral drug all but impotent
and creating tough treatment options for patients who come down with the flu.
On Dec. 19, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerted local health authorities that an early testing of the most common
type of seasonal flu found that it has become virtually impervious to Tamiflu.
The resistance, apparently triggered by a spontaneous mutation in the virus, comes three years after a different subtype of the flu virus became
widely resistant to another drug class.
www.physorg.com...
Worryingly, there is an apparent resistance in avian flu too. Could a blend of avian and swine flu, which some fear, be the end for many many
people?
A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows the resistance of the avian flu virus to a major class of antiviral drugs is increasing through
positive evolutionary selection, with researchers documenting the trend in more than 30 percent of the samples tested. The avian flu, an Influenza A
subtype dubbed H5N1, is evolving a resistance to a group of antiviral drugs known as adamantanes,
In contrast, resistance of the avian flu virus to the second, newer class of antiviral drugs that includes oseltamivir -- a prescription drug marketed
under the brand name Tamiflu -- is present, but is not yet prevalent or under positive genetic
selection.
www.medicalnewstoday.com...
No matter how you look at it, both swine and avian flu are gathering a resistance towards treatment, and as some have stated, the single us of a
single drug will only make this resistance much more stronger. We may be facing a very deadly virus the next time it comes around.
This report suggests that all which we are reading and being told about Tamiflu, etc. is mere nonsense. To stop any infection from any animal the
focus of prevention must be the bridge between human and animal and not treating sick humans...it would appear it will be too late once humans get
it.. This is worth the read.. it may hold some very important info that nobody else wants to consider due to the loss share holders will make..
Dr David Hill on why antiviral vaccines are not the answer to a possible swine flu pandemic, and why more fundamental action is needed. For for
all the above reasons, an international and national strategy based on a drugs solution is not the answer; we have to look at how animal flu makes the
transition to humans.
www.nursingtimes.net... 
