Previous
A Study into Tamiflu Abuse
Added: (Thu Dec 27 2007)
People the world round have been worried about bird flu for the past few years and now there is even more reason to worry. Swedish scientist, Jerker Fick, has made a frightening discovery linking Tamiflu, a common antiviral drug used to treat flu outbreaks, to an increase in resistant strains of the flu virus.
Tamiflu is not a cure, but as an antiviral drug, it helps lessen the symptoms of the virus and shorten the duration of illness. It is also the main weapon we have against avian flu. While it cannot prevent people from contracting bird flu, Tamiflu does drastically reduce the risk of death if contracted and is most effective if given ahead of time, like a vaccine.
In his study, Jerker Fick tested the ability of the antiviral molecules to survive in the sewers. This study, which took place at the Umea University in Sweden, had disturbing results. The scientist checked three different sewage treatment options to see if Tamiflu would break down or be destroyed by any or all of them. The three samples included raw sewage without any treatment at all, sewage that had been chemically treated and filtered, and “activated sludge”, sewer water which contained microbes intended to break down the waste. The Tamiflu molecules survived all three treatment processes.
The fear sparked by this scientific examination of sewage is that the antiviral drug will be poured into rivers, lakes and even the ocean. From there, it can easily be ingested by water birds, particularly ducks who tend to forage near sewage outlets. If these birds ingest sufficient quantities of the treatment, it is quite likely that the avian flu will be able to adapt and become resistant to this form of antiviral medicine, leaving humans wide open to a pandemic.
Why is this such a concern and why do scientists believe such an event could occur? Because it already has, in Japan. Tamiflu is not only used for bird flu, it is also a common treatment for the normal human flu virus and in Japan, it has been widely distributed. There, new viruses have become completely resistant to the antiviral treatment, rendering it nearly useless as a method of easing symptoms. While none of these flu viruses is as serious as the bird flu, the situation proves that we could be in serious trouble if Tamiflu makes it into the wild in large doses.
Flu viruses are constantly mutating and evolving, which is why we need new types of vaccines each year to fight them. However, Tamiflu was and is, toted as the best treatment because it doesn’t need to adapt to the virus. Now, the virus is adapting to the treatment and since no vaccine exists for avian flu, this could mean big problems.
At the moment, the bird flu is not virulent. That means it doesn’t spread between humans like a normal flu virus. While people are vulnerable to avian flu when they come into contact with infected bird droppings and saliva, it very rarely passes from human to human, meaning that up until now, it has not posed a big threat to the human population. That could all change if the virus mutates into a virulent form, making it contagious simply by coughing or coming into contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. In this case, it is estimated that up to 150 million people would die in a world-wide epidemic of the bird flu.
For now, scientists are keeping a close eye on the most dangerous form of avian flu, a strain called H5N1 that originated in Hong Kong. This strain poses the biggest threat at the moment, with a strong possibility of mutating into a virulent form. If this form is carried by those ducks foraging near sewage outlets rich in Tamiflu molecules, it would also become resistant to the only safety measure we have against avian flu at this point in time.
In order to reduce the possibility of Tamiflu causing a treatment-resistant form of the bird flu, doctors are recommending limited use of the antiviral medication. Only those in the high risk category should be given the treatment as a preventative measure. High risk individuals include bird farmers and anyone who is involved in the processing of bird carcasses. Anyone who may be exposed to the virus on a less frequent basis can be treated within 24 hours of diagnosis with good results, eliminating the need for pre-treatment.
Until we have a better treatment for the bird flu, Tamiflu is the only thing that stands between us and a pandemic, so it needs to be used with great care. Awareness of the disastrous results if it is overused is necessary to keep avian flu strains from becoming resistant to the antiviral medication and prevent serious, world-wide illness.