JEDDAH: A visiting internationally recognized expert in drug discovery and development has commented that the decision of some Muslim countries to not allow their citizens to go for Haj this year due to swine flu may have been an over reaction.
“The same state of fear prevailed before the just-concluded Umrah season ... which passed with very few cases of swine flu reported in Makkah,” said Dr. Adnan M. Mijalli, chairman, president and CEO of Transtech Pharma, a US-based drugs company.
Mijalli, a Palestinian American, is currently in the Kingdom at the head of a Transtech Pharma delegation. The group is meeting Saudi officials and businessmen to discuss potential cooperation on novel therapies for the treatment of diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as discovering and developing new medicines using modern technology.
“Swine flu has been misunderstood and much inflated in most parts of the world by special interest groups using the media. Drug companies market their products to treat the diseases, but the diseases have to be accurately diagnosed in order to make the right treatment decision,” he added.
Mijalli, said side effects of Tamiflu treatment against H1N1 virus can be a problem in patients diagnosed incorrectly. He, therefore, warned against giving the medicine to treat swine flu before the disease is diagnosed.
Mijalli also warned against using unproven vaccines due to their unknown side effects and unproven efficacy.
“That’s why the US and most of Europe have not initiated widespread vaccination programs for H1N1.” He also said that a delay in the opening of schools is unnecessary.
