Tamiflu has no effect on kids with swine flu: Study

Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Aug 10 (PTI) In new research with implications
for swine flu treatment in India, experts based at the
University of Oxford say that antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu)
and zanamivir (Relenza) are unlikely to prevent complications
in children who have swine flu.

While the study published in the British Medical Journal
today shows that antivirals shorten the duration of flu in
children by up to a day and a half, it also shows that they
have little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, increased ear
infections or the likelihood of children needing antibiotics.

The antiviral Tamiflu is also linked to an increased risk
of vomiting.

The authors, led by Dr Matthew Thompson from the
University of Oxford, add that the study reveals the
effectiveness of using antivirals to contain the spread of
flu. They conclude that 13 people need to be treated to
prevent one additional case; therefore antivirals reduce
transmission by 8 per cent.

During seasonal flu epidemics children are at high risk,
with over 4 in 10 (40 per cent) pre-school children getting
the virus and 3 in 10 (30 per cent) school age children doing
so. School age children are also the main source of spread of
flu into households, say the authors.

The main strategy to control flu is vaccination but
coverage can be low and often there is not enough time to
produce and distribute vaccines in response to emerging
strains.

Therefore, current control strategies include using
antiviral medications to prevent the virus spreading as well
as treating infected individuals.

Thompson and his colleagues say the last review of this
strategy was carried out in 2005 and a more up to date
assessment of the benefits and harms of this treatment is now
required.

So they carried out a review of four trials on the
treatment of flu in 1,766 children (1,243 with confirmed flu,
55 to 69 per cent with type A, the same strain as swine flu)
and three trials involving the use of antiviral to limit the
spread of flu.

The authors conclude that it is difficult to know the
extent to which their findings can be generalised to children
in the current swine flu pandemic but, based on current
evidence, the effects of antivirals on reducing the course of
illness or preventing complications might be limited.

"While morbidity and mortality in the current pandemic
remain low, a more conservative strategy might be considered
prudent, given the limited data, side effects such as
vomiting, and the potential for developing resistant strains
of influenza," they say. PTI PS
SDE