Strains of drug-resistant flu are said to be able to pass from one human to another
Increasing numbers of cases of swine flu are being detected that are resistant to Tamiflu, the drug the UK and rest of the world stockpiled to fight a pandemic, according to scientists calling for greater global monitoring.
Even more worryingly, these strains of flu are appearing in patients who have never been treated with the drug, which means the strains are able to pass from one human to another.
Tamiflu, generic name oseltamivir, is one of the few treatments available for pandemic swine flu, although it is thought to be of limited effectiveness. The reluctance of the manufacturer Roche to release all the trial data has made it difficult to ascertain how limited. Nonetheless the drug can save lives if used early in the course of the illness.
Resistance to the drug has been shown before, but the new Australian data on its steady growth and the apparently easy transfer from one person to another of Tamiflu-resistant flu strains will alarm public health experts.