Drug-Resistant Swine Flu Emerges In Wales

11:42am UK, Saturday November 21, 2009
Hugh Westbrook,
SkyNews

Five people have been diagnosed with a strain of swine flu which appears to be resistant to Tamiflu. It is also believed the strain could be the first one to pass directly from person to person.

Three of the five affected people at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, appeared to pick up the infection on the ward.

The patients were on a ward for those with severe underlying health conditions.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Examples of Tamiflu resistance are very rare, but when this does occur it has often been among these especially vulnerable patients.

"In other words, because their immune systems are compromised, it is more likely for resistant viruses to develop."

The Health Protection Agency said: "There is no evidence that the oseltamivir-resistant virus is any more virulent than any other type of flu. The situation is being kept under review.

"The virus remains sensitive to the other frontline drug, Relenza, which is being used as an alternative anti-viral and patients are responding well.

"Although further epidemiological investigation is under way, it would seem likely that transmission of oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 virus has taken place."

Two of the five have recovered and have been discharged from hospital, one is in critical care and two are being treated on the ward.

Dr Roland Salmon, director of the NPHS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, said the emergence of a resistant strain was "not unexpected" in patients with serious underlying conditions.

Other experts said the development was not unexpected, with virologist Nigel Dimmock of the University of Warwick saying: "If you use Tamiflu at the level they are using it you get resistance.

"The fact people have recovered is a good sign, there doesn't seem to be anything sinister about developing a resistance and it is what everybody expected.

"Resistance will become more and more common so we will use Relenza and then it will become resistant to Relenza. These drugs are useful but they are short term."

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