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PAHO rejects report of resistant H1N1 cases on US-Mexico border

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  • PAHO rejects report of resistant H1N1 cases on US-Mexico border

    Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...GE3KnYOs5DuTtA

    Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

    (AFP) ? 1 hour ago

    LA JOLLA, California ? A strain of swine flu that is resistant to treatment with the drug Tamiflu has been discovered near the US-Mexican border, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Monday.

    "We have found resistance to Tamiflu on the border. We have observed some cases, few to be sure, in El Paso and close to McAllen, Texas," said Maria Teresa Cerqueira, head of the local PAHO office.

    Cases of A(H1N1) that were resistant to the anti-viral medicine have now been found in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong and Japan.

    Experts gathered in La Jolla, California on Monday to discuss the response to the outbreak, said the resistance was likely due to overuse of antivirals like Tamiflu.

    "In the United States Tamiflu is sold with a prescription, but in Mexico and Canada it is sold freely and taken at the first sneeze. Then, when it is really needed, it doesn't work," said Cerqueira.

    Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, has said it expects a 0.5 percent rate of case resistance based on clinical trials.

    Cerquiera said one patient diagnosed with a Tamiflu-resistant strain had been treated with Zanamivir -- an anti-viral made by GlaxoSmithKline -- and another was given no alternative medication. Both survived.

    Since the swine flu outbreak emerged earlier this year it has killed 353 people in the United States and 146 in Mexico, according to authorities from each country.

    A large proportion of nearly 1,000 recorded deaths around the world since the virus was first identified in Mexico in April have involved people with underlying medical conditions.

    World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan has urged countries to boost their drug stockpiles amid warnings of the virus's continued spread.

    "Manufacturing capacity for influenza vaccines is finite and woefully inadequate for a world of 6.8 billion people, nearly all of whom are susceptible to infection by this entirely new and highly contagious virus," Chan said on July 14.

    A vaccine against the disease is currently being tested for safety and effectiveness, and is expected to be ready in the next two to four months, although the precise date is unclear.

    US officials have recommended that children and pregnant women be among the groups first in line for swine flu shots, but said they were unlikely to have enough vaccine for everyone once the drug is ready to be rolled out.

    Greece has announced it will vaccinate all its 11-million-strong population, the first country to introduce such a broad measure amid the current pandemic.

    With such pledges emerging, developing nations have expressed concerns they will be left out, as richer nations race to build stock piles.

    UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said developing countries could need about one billion dollars by the end of the year to fund measures against the swine flu pandemic, especially vaccines.

  • #2
    Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

    Cerquiera said one patient diagnosed with a Tamiflu-resistant strain had been treated with Zanamivir -- an anti-viral made by GlaxoSmithKline -- and another was given no alternative medication. Both survived.
    So much 'spin' here, I'm getting dizzy.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

      Originally posted by Snicklefritz View Post
      So much 'spin' here, I'm getting dizzy.
      TWO more cases isn't spin. It is the tip of a VERY large iceberg.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

        Originally posted by Snicklefritz View Post
        So much 'spin' here, I'm getting dizzy.
        These cases are a two VERY distinct locations on US Mexico border where there have been recent outbreaks in Mexico. The fact that two cases are being reported simultaneously is SIGNIFICANT.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

          Originally posted by Shiloh View Post
          Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...GE3KnYOs5DuTtA

          Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

          "We have found resistance to Tamiflu on the border. We have observed some cases, few to be sure, in El Paso and close to McAllen, Texas," said Maria Teresa Cerqueira, head of the local PAHO office.
          These two locations are at opposite ends of the Texas border with Mexico. It is unclear if these patients had been treated with Tamiflu. I strongly suspect that the one that recovered without "alternative" (instead of "additional") treatment was NOT treated with Tamiflu.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

            Originally posted by niman View Post
            These two locations are at opposite ends of the Texas border with Mexico. It is unclear if these patients had been treated with Tamiflu. I strongly suspect that the one that recovered without "alternative" (instead of "additional") treatment was NOT treated with Tamiflu.
            Check the wording again. They said "few cases" not two cases. Perhaps I am reading the text too closely, but the way it was written implies it may be more than 2. Also:

            Cerquiera said one patient diagnosed with a Tamiflu-resistant strain had been treated with Zanamivir -- an anti-viral made by GlaxoSmithKline -- and another was given no alternative medication. Both survived.
            Again, I may be reading plain English too literally, but they said "another", not "the other." People speaking in an official capacity really ought to be more careful with their wording.
            Wotan (pronounced Voton with the ton rhyming with on) - The German Odin, ruler of the Aesir.

            I am not a doctor, virologist, biologist, etc. I am a layman with a background in the physical sciences.

            Attempting to blog an nascent pandemic: Diary of a Flu Year

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

              Originally posted by wotan View Post
              Check the wording again. They said "few cases" not two cases. Perhaps I am reading the text too closely, but the way it was written implies it may be more than 2. Also:



              Again, I may be reading plain English too literally, but they said "another", not "the other." People speaking in an official capacity really ought to be more careful with their wording.
              I think that the wording is deliberately mushy because there are more than two, but they don't want to say that yet.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                Originally posted by wotan View Post
                Check the wording again. They said "few cases" not two cases. Perhaps I am reading the text too closely, but the way it was written implies it may be more than 2. Also:



                Again, I may be reading plain English too literally, but they said "another", not "the other." People speaking in an official capacity really ought to be more careful with their wording.
                This is sounding MUCH like the initial cases in California, which were more than 100 miles apart, had NO linkage, and were reported SIMULTANEOUSLY.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                  Originally posted by wotan View Post
                  Check the wording again. They said "few cases" not two cases. Perhaps I am reading the text too closely, but the way it was written implies it may be more than 2. Also:



                  Again, I may be reading plain English too literally, but they said "another", not "the other." People speaking in an official capacity really ought to be more careful with their wording.
                  Correct. Few is more than 2!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                    Originally posted by Jeremy View Post
                    Correct. Few is more than 2!
                    Textual analysis from all the way back in High School English finally has a use.
                    Wotan (pronounced Voton with the ton rhyming with on) - The German Odin, ruler of the Aesir.

                    I am not a doctor, virologist, biologist, etc. I am a layman with a background in the physical sciences.

                    Attempting to blog an nascent pandemic: Diary of a Flu Year

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                      Originally posted by wotan View Post
                      Check the wording again. They said "few cases" not two cases. Perhaps I am reading the text too closely, but the way it was written implies it may be more than 2. Also:



                      Again, I may be reading plain English too literally, but they said "another", not "the other." People speaking in an official capacity really ought to be more careful with their wording.
                      It also says the other patient had "diagnosed" Tamiflu resistance and was treated with Relenza. It doesn't say that the patient developed Tamiflu resistance. I suspect that testing is up because FIT Tamiflu resistance has been found.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                        Originally posted by Shiloh View Post

                        Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, has said it expects a 0.5 percent rate of case resistance based on clinical trials.
                        Niman,

                        Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the previous strain of H1N1 from last year have close to 100% Tamiflu Resistance?

                        If that is the case, this statement can't really be true can it?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                          Originally posted by Jeremy View Post
                          Niman,

                          Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the previous strain of H1N1 from last year have close to 100% Tamiflu Resistance?

                          If that is the case, this statement can't really be true can it?
                          I think that refers to de novo development.
                          Wotan (pronounced Voton with the ton rhyming with on) - The German Odin, ruler of the Aesir.

                          I am not a doctor, virologist, biologist, etc. I am a layman with a background in the physical sciences.

                          Attempting to blog an nascent pandemic: Diary of a Flu Year

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                            Originally posted by Jeremy View Post
                            Niman,

                            Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the previous strain of H1N1 from last year have close to 100% Tamiflu Resistance?

                            If that is the case, this statement can't really be true can it?
                            The seasonal flu was at 100% resistant (had H274Y) but NOT linked to Tamifu use (which I suspect is the case in these patients).

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Tamiflu-resistant swine flu found on US-Mexico border

                              <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/08040901/H274Y_TX_Cases.html">Commentary</a>

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