# 3581
Without providing much in the way of details, tonight officials at PAHO (Pan-American Health Organization) have announced the discovery of some small number of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) resistant swine flu cases near the Mexican border.
First the press report, and then some commentary.
UPDATE: Tamiflu-Resistant Swine Flu Found Near US-Mexico Border (Roche AG)
(Updates with details, background)
LA JOLLA, Calif. (AFP)--A strain of swine flu that is resistant to treatment with the drug Tamiflu has been discovered near the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pan-American Health Organization said on Monday.
"We have found resistance to Tamiflu on the border. We have observed some cases, few to be sure, in El Paso and close to McAllen, Texas," said Maria Teresa Cerqueira, head of the local PAHO office.
A certain amount of `spontaneous’ resistance to Tamiflu, according to Roche laboratories, is to be expected. They estimate that happens about .5% of the time, or about 1 in every 200 people that take the drug.
Up until now, only a handful of cases have been reported around the world, and no ongoing transmission of a resistant strain has been detected.
The great concern is that this novel H1N1 virus will acquire the same level of resistance to Tamiflu that seasonal H1N1 has over the past year. That would effectively eliminate our massive stockpiles of antivirals as a weapon against this pandemic and could drive the CFR (case fatality ratio) higher.
Right now, we have scant information available.
Until we know how many cases have been found, and whether there appears to be ongoing transmission of this strain, it is hard to gauge the seriousness of this report.
It is worrisome, however.
No doubt, officials at the CDC and the WHO will be watching this story closely, as shall we.
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