resistance to flu vaccine on the rise
Does Relenza consist of "adamantanes" as per article below ? If not, please show your references.
Resistance to flu vaccine on the rise By Jacqueline Maley September 23, 2005
RESISTANCE to the drugs used to treat flu has increased by 12 per cent over the past decade, according to a British report.
The news serves as a warning to governments that may be stockpiling defunct medications in readiness for an outbreak.
Most worryingly, 61 per cent of the resistant flu viruses were found in Asia, where a bird flu epidemic is widely anticipated.
The use of adamantanes, a class of drugs targeting one of the most common strains of flu, is rising worldwide, according to the research, published in the latest issue of The Lancet medical journal.
But resistance to the drugs was growing just as fast, the report warned.
Researchers screened more than 7000 samples of the flu strain for signs of drug resistance. They found that the number of drug-resistant virus strains rose from 0.4 per cent in 1994 to 12.3 per cent in 2004.
Resistance was much more common in Asia, where 61 per cent of resistant viruses originated.
The report's authors said the findings had broad implications for governments planning to stockpile the drugs as a "front- line arsenal" against a flu epidemic or pandemic
