reply to post by kiwifoot
Well- you wanted to know about anti-viral resistance- and here it comes:
1) Denmark- isolated.
2) Japan- discussed on another thread, when I noted that Japan uses more Tamiflu than any other country in the world, per capita, in order to feel
well enough to continue working. Second case of resistance to Tamiflu- Japan
3) Now there are cases in Hong Kong:
www.google.com...
It's a conundrum- the SEASONAL H1N1 strain last year was almost entirely resistant to Tamiflu- and virologists were very worried that reassortment
would occur, and the novel H1N1 (A) strain would pick up the resistance factors- which it has, obviously.
SO- we have Relenza, as well as the prior class of drugs- the amantidines:
en.wikipedia.org...
Most flus have developed resistance to amantidines, but as this is a novel strain, we have no proof of resistance, because it it used so rarely, as it
is a dangerous class of drugs.
ALL influenza anti-virals have terrible side effects; the class that is now widely used- Tamiflu, Relenza, etc., were developed as they were better
tolerated and were effective against the majority of seasonal flu strains, in terms of reducing symptoms somewhat, and helping people with asthma,
etc., from catching a full-blown case of the flu, which could be deadly to them.
Amantidines, however, bind to serum albumin, and thus cannot be filtered from the body; therefore, if one takes too much, or does not tolerate the
class of drug, there is no way to remove it from the system using dialysis, etc. Many people have died from amantidines- nearly as many as have died
from the flu for which they took them.
Like the over-writing of scripts for antibiotics for viral infections (which they don't treat), anti-virals can also loose efficacy; the viruses pick
up resistance factors and they beat the drug. LUCKILY, the pneumonia which often follows flu (in serious cases) is usually bacterial, and is
generally VERY susceptible to many antibiotics, if given in time, before ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) occurs, which is almost
universally fatal.
So, my friend, the plot thickens. I think, IMHO, that we should use Tamiflu ONLY sparingly, and only when H1N1 has been confirmed (yes, I know- it
takes days, but the new VeriChip will speed that along)--that way, it will remain usefull for at least some of the population who need it-
All the fear mongering about manbirdpig flu will not cause me to lose my sense of self and jump on Big Pharma's bandwagon.
How dare some ahole thing they have some kind of
right to inject me with their crap. Try it, and I will seek revenge and swine flu will become the least of your worries, ha! 
