Bird flu 'resistant to Australian drug arsenal'
16-MAY-2008 Intellasia | ABC News
May 16, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
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The Federal government's bird-flu medication stockpiles are being questioned after research showed the virus is resistant to the majority of Australia's supplies.
A report in Nature Online journal has found the strain of the bird flu virus dangerous to humans is resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
Australia has 6.9 million courses of Tamiflu in stockpile, but only 1.8 million courses of Relenza, the drug that is effective against the virus.
Dr Alan Hay is the director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre at the National Centre for Medical Research in the UK, and the co-author of the report.
He says the team examined the most common mutation of the H5N1 bird flu virus, one that has emerged in a human form of influenza, known as H1N1, and found it is widely circulated.
"The mutations cause resistance to Tamiflu but not Relenza," he said.
Dr Hay says his research should provide food for thought for governments as they stockpile both drugs against a possible bird flu epidemic.
"It's quite clear that these, there is greater potential for these resistant viruses, Tamiflu-resistant viruses, to emerge than was previously thought," he said.
The government has announced in this week's Federal Budget it will be replenishing its Tamiflu stockpile.
But Dr Hay says policy makers should consider balancing the drugs they stockpile.
"Well it certainly emphasizes greatly that relying on a single drug is somewhat foolhardy when there are more than one drug available," he said.
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