(OT)U.S. campers developed drug-resistant flu: report

[Guest guest]

U.S. campers developed drug-resistant flu: report

Buzz up!

by Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Maggie Fox, Health And Science Editor

–

Fri Sep 11, 4:48 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two girls given antiviral drugs in an effort to protect children at a summer camp from the new pandemic swine flu developed resistant virus, U.S. health officials reported on Thursday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

said the study supports its new recommendations that flu drugs not be

given to prevent infection among people who are otherwise healthy.

Both girls recovered without becoming seriously ill, but the incident

shows that it is easy for the new pandemic H1N1 virus to develop

resistance to flu drugs, officials said.

" We are concerned about the appropriate use of antivirals, " the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said in an interview.

Two antiviral drugs work well against H1N1 swine flu -- Roche AG and

Gilead Science Inc's Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, and GlaxoKline and Biota's Relenza, known generically as zanamivir.

There are two older flu drugs, amantadine and rimantadine, but seasonal

influenza developed resistance against them and they are no longer

recommended for use alone against influenza.

Last year, the seasonal H1N1 flu virus -- a different strain from H1N1

swine flu -- developed resistance against Tamiflu in the United States

and many other countries. Flu viruses are mutation-prone and experts

are not surprised that they would evolve resistance, just as bacteria

develop resistance to antibiotics.

But the CDC would like to preserve the benefits of Tamiflu and Relenza for as long as possible.

Tamiflu and Relenza not only fight flu. They can prevent infection if

given soon enough. And a doctor at a North Carolina summer camp decided

to protect 600 campers and staff there with so-called prophylactic

doses of Tamiflu.

Two girls developed flu anyway. As they were cabin-mates, it is

possible one infected the other, the CDC and North Carolina health

investigators said.

Checks showed they were both infected with viruses that had mutations giving them resistance to Tamiflu.

So far, globally, just a handful of cases have been documented in which

H1N1 swine flu resists the effects of Tamiflu. But world health

officials are watching carefully.

The CDC recommends that Tamiflu and Relenza be saved to treat only

people at risk of serious illness or death from flu -- pregnant women,

children who seem to have trouble breathing or other serious symptoms,

and people with conditions that weaken their immune systems such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090911/hl_nm/us_flu_campers