Drug-resistant avian flu virus isolated
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A strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus resistant to the antiviral Tamiflu has been isolated from a patient in Vietnam, according to a brief communication to be published on October 20 in the journal Nature.
However, the Tamiflu-resistant virus remained sensitive to a second antiviral agent, Relenza, suggesting that this drug should be stockpiled along with Tamiflu to prepare for a possible avian flu pandemic.
Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and colleagues report that a 14-year-old girl had received 75 milligrams of Tamiflu each day for 3 days last February after she developed symptoms of the virus. On day 3, the resistant strain was isolated. After doubling the dose of Tamiflu for 7 days the young girl recovered.
The authors note that the patient had no known direct contact with poultry, but had cared for her older brother when he was sick with the H5N1 virus, suggesting possible human-to-human transmission.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Kawaoka made no recommendations regarding changes in Tamiflu doses for avian flu, since for prevention, Tamiflu “works great.”
The bottom line, he added, is “don’t panic, because this is just one case and avian influenza is very sensitive to (Tamiflu). We just have to be very careful in terms of surveillance” for resistance mutations in human isolates.
SOURCE: Nature, October 20, 2005.
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