Study shows Tamiflu not suitable for children as 97th death recorded

By John Le Fevre

BANGKOK (thaivisa.com): -- The Thai Public Health Ministry has confirmed 16 more fatalities from pandemic A(H1N1), bringing the total number of people in Thailand to die from the virus to 97.

The announcement came as a new study released today said that children with seasonal flu should not be given antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu, because harmful side effects outweigh relatively meagre benefits.

The study, conducted at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England, found that in some children Tamiflu caused nausea and vomiting, which can lead to dehydration and other complications.

Dr Carl Henegan, co-author of the study, said the current British practice of giving Tamiflu for mild illness was "an inappropriate strategy".

Though the study did not cover the current outbreak of pandemic A(H1N1), originally termed swine flu, its conclusions suggest that antivirals may not significantly reduce the length of illness, or prevent complications in children infected with the new virus.

According to the study, antivirals such as oseltamivir (the active ingredient in Tamiflu) and zanamivir shortened the duration of seasonal flu by up to a day and a half.

Dr Henegan said the drugs had little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, increased ear infections or the need for antibiotics and "the downside of the harms outweighs the one-day reduction in symptomatic benefits”.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, comes 10 days after Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) reported that more than half of 248 students given Tamiflu after a classmate fell ill with swine flu suffered side-effects such as nausea, insomnia and nightmares.

-- thaivisa.com 2009-08-11

No sure, but are the kids getting the same dosage as adults??

Certainly a 12 kilo 5 year old getting the dose of a 100 kilo man would likely get sick...

Edited August 11, 200917 yr by animatic

I am sure children are given child doses. Every pharmaceutical has side effects, you need to weigh up if they are worse than the actual ailment. I posted a herbal anti-viral I used when I believe I had it and got hammered for it. Just take Tamiflu, you'll be right (and most will).

I thought medicinal drugs were tried and tested rigorously over several years before being declaired safe to the general public . This Tamiflu seems to have been rushed through or conveniently put out at just the right time , how odd ?