LONDON: The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that Tamiflu should only be given to particularly vulnerable people — a warning to countries like Britain where the swine flu drug is being handed out freely.
WHO previously said it was up to doctors to decide who should get Tamiflu. On Friday, the UN agency said healthy people who catch mild to moderate cases of swine flu don’t need the drug, but the young, old, pregnant, and those with underlying health problems surely do.
WHO said people thought to be at risk for complications from swine flu — children less than five years old, pregnant women, people over age 65 and those with other health problems like heart disease, HIV or diabetes — should definitely get the drug.
The agency also recommended all patients, including children, who have severe cases of swine flu, with breathing difficulties, chest pain or severe weakness, should get Tamiflu immediately, perhaps in higher doses than now used.
“The WHO guidance is quite different from what has been done in England,” said Hugh Pennington, a flu expert at the University of Aberdeen. “England’s approach is out of step with the rest of the world on this.” In Britain, the government’s response to the swine flu outbreak has come under fire for allowing Tamiflu to be handed out by call center workers who have as little as three hours of training.
Since the British set up a national flu service in July to deal with the surge of swine flu cases, Tamiflu has been available to anyone suspected of having the disease. Britons who call the national flu line can get Tamiflu without ever seeing a doctor — it is given out by call center workers who have no medical training.
Some experts have criticized that approach, warning that blanketing the population with Tamiflu increases the chances of resistant strains emerging. Officials have already found widespread drug resistance in seasonal strains of flu and worry that might also crop up with swine flu. So far, only a handful of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu strains have been found.
Charles Penn, a WHO antiviral expert, said it was up to countries to decide how they used their Tamiflu stocks. He said in most cases, the drug should be prescribed by a doctor or nurse, and that resistance could emerge if Tamiflu was overused.
WHO said most patients infected with swine flu worldwide recover within a week without any medical treatment. Still, about 40 percent of the severe swine flu cases are occurring in previously healthy children and adults, usually under 50 years of age.
The world body said the global spread of swine flu will endanger more lives as it speeds up in the coming months and governments must boost preparations for a swift response to the coming “explosion” of cases.
Many countries could see swine flu cases double every three to four days for several months until peak transmission is reached, once cold weather returns to the northern hemisphere, said WHO’s Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo.
