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| Europe | |||
| Germans snapping up Tamiflu in bird flu panic | |||
| 2005-10-15 | |||
The demand for the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu has boomed in Germany as a result of widespread concern over bird flu, pharmacies report. Germans have been swamping doctors' offices in attempts to get prescriptions for the prescription-only drug. Tamiflu has been recommended by the WHO and the European Union to treat possible infections. "The demand was extremely high in recent weeks," Christiane Eckert-Lill of German national pharmacy association ABDA said in remarks quoted by Deutsche Welle. 79,000 packages of Tamiflu were sold in August alone, she said, up from a mere 900 packages in the same period in 2004. The share price of Tamiflu manufacturer, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, has risen to an all time high since the news that bird flu has been detected in Romania. Meanshile European Union governments remained on full alert on Friday following the discovery of bird flu in neighbouring Turkey and Romania. The European Commission rushed veterinary experts to both countries and E.U. foreign ministers are to meet next week to discuss plans for a global fund to help other countries hit by the disease. As top E.U. veterinary experts continued day-long emergency talks in Brussels, the commission said it was responding to requests for help from Romania and Turkey. "We have offered all assistance possible," said European Commission spokesman Philip Tod. Tod confirmed that further tests on samples from Romania to confirm the presence of the H5N1 virus - which can be transmitted to humans - had been delayed due to customs procedures which apply to the transport of "dangerous materials". The samples are now expected to arrive at the E.U. reference laboratory in Britain on Friday with results expected by Saturday afternoon. E.U. assistance had also been requested by Bulgaria, which fears contamination from neighbouring Turkey and Romania, and experts will be dispatched there, Tod said. Meanwhile, a meeting of E.U. foreign ministers in Luxembourg on October 18 will study plans to set up an international fund to help countries in south-east Asia which have been grappling with bird flu for several months. "There will be a discussion on international coordination," said Tod. Officials said E.U. vets would approve commission proposals on preventive measures, including a requirement that E.U. members reduce the risk of contact between wild birds and poultry flocks in high risk areas such as wetlands or other areas frequented by migratory birds. "Each member state will define which areas are at risk and apply the necessary measures to separate wild birds from poultry," the proposal read, adding that where necessary, this could include keeping poultry indoors in high risk areas.
Scientists fear the bird flu virus could mutate and lead to a human pandemic. The H5N1 strain does not easily infect humans, but 117 people in Asia, mostly poultry farmers, have caught it over the past two years. E.U. Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou has proposed to set aside EUR 1 billion to help make and distribute anti-viral drugs and vaccines in case of a pandemic. Kyprianou is also suggesting that governments start stock-piling anti-virals, saying they are the best defence against such a pandemic. Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Friday called for transparency by governments in the global fight against the spread of bird flu. "There has got to be total transparency," Rice told journalists in Paris after talks with Douste-Blazy. "The world cannot be caught unawares." The French foreign minister agreed, and added that developed countries must be prepared to help the less developed deal with the problem. "The problem is the eventual mutation of the virus, so that it can be passed from person to person," said Douste-Blazy, who is a physician by profession. "If we do not want it to mutate, me must do everything we can to prevent it from mutating," he said. "We must be present in the poorest countries, where it could mutate." | |||
| Posted by:lotp |
| #11 They need to read Drudge... Girl Has Drug-Resistant Case of Bird Flu That's Tamiflu-resistant... They needed Relenza to beat it. The US is stocking up on both - and probably others, as well. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-15 07:37 |
| #10 We'll see if Roche is correct or if the Indian version is actually potent. I would hope both the company and their government wouldn't pass along iffy-quality stuff with too short a shelf-life or whatever else might occur from a slightly-off manufacturing process. OTOH, if the pandemic does happen with this flu, there will be at least the possibility of major riots, refugee flows and governments that collapse. A government might be willing to distribute a less than perfect antiviral to calm public sentiment in extreme situations .... |
| Posted by: lotp 2005-10-15 20:10 |
| #9 Cool - maybe the muzzies will reject the flu vaccine along with every otehr one they reject in their bigoted ignorant religious beliefs.... this one has immediate consequences. Imams should go first |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-15 14:37 |
| #8 "Hamied said Cipla would not target US and European markets being served by Tamiflu, but would offer supplies to any government that wanted to buy. "We are not targeting essentially those markets unless there is a real emergency and these countries declare a compulsory licence," he said in a telephone interview, adding Cipla planned to sell its version of Tamiflu in developing countries. " |
| Posted by: john 2005-10-15 14:23 |
| #7 Indian firm plans to make generic Tamiflu |
| Posted by: john 2005-10-15 14:20 |
| #6 There are people out doing that already, with theory variations for both drugs and vaccines. You're several months behind the times. (One of the majors is John Rappaport at No more fake news.) |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-10-15 13:46 |
| #5 How long before someone accuses the drug companies of starting the panic to pump up drug sales? Not long, I'll bet. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-10-15 10:23 |
| #4 Which leads to the somewhat paradoxical situation that those taking Tamiflu may not save their own ass, but will contribute to saving everyone elses. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-10-15 10:09 |
| #3 .com, the resistance reported is not significant since it was not transmitted to her and evolved during the infection. Further Tamiflu seems near 100% effective in stopping onward transmission. So while its effectiveness in protecting an inidividual is questionable, it seems highly highly effective as a 'blanket' to slow or stop transmission in a population. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-10-15 09:49 |
| #2 er....hang them. |
| Posted by: Shereting Omager3789 2005-10-15 09:06 |
| #1 The problem is that people mishandle the drugs providing the disease a means to 'evolve', 'adapt' to the change and thus continue as a mutated strain. We already have read reports of bribed Chinese officials who have provided drugs to farmers who then cut it and then use it to treat their livestock. So the lag time between when the agent is identified and when it is rendered immune to existing prophylactics is unfortunately decreasing. Human behavior will undermine the traditional methods of control except that of enforced isolation. The old carnard of the Marxist is that capitalist will sale you the rope to hand them. In this case capitalist will obstruct isolation when it is needed in order to make a few short term bucks. Oh, its bad for business. |
| Posted by: Shereting Omager3789 2005-10-15 09:05 |