(East) Texas hotbed for flu in past month; Case spike drains pediatric Tamiflu in Tyler

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20...WS01/301019982

Posted 6:17 am Tuesday, January 01, 2013


Texas hotbed for flu in past month; Case spike drains pediatric Tamiflu
BY KENNETH DEAN

kdean@tylerpaper.com


For many East Texans the holidays have been celebrated in bed as they battled the flu or flu-like illness, and healthcare workers have been bombarded with a bevy of sick patients.

The spike in cases has drained pediatric Tamiflu in Tyler, officials said...

[Shiloh]

Re: (East) Texas hotbed for flu in past month; Case spike drains pediatric Tamiflu in Tyler

Source: http://www.fox51.com/news/flu-grips-...-flu-meds-kids

Flu grips East Texas?shortage on flu meds for kids
Nicole Vowell
Wednesday, January 2, 2013 - 6:53pm

...The dreaded flu bug has gripped East Texans everywhere, and the popular drug Tamiflu for children is running out.

Walgreens pharmacist, Dr. Kendall Lemke says the drug supply can't meet demand, ?We try to order it as often as we can, but you know in the mean time it's just unavailable we can't seem to get any from the manufacturer."

However there is a solution to the drug shortage that many pharmacies are doing, they are altering the adult formula of the drug to make for kids. Lemke says, "Basically what we do is we use the regular capsules and we pull apart the capsules and we mix it into a liquid that the kids can swallow..."