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First Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 case in Utah detected
<!--subtitle-->Rare strain ? Only 29 cases -- excluding Utah man -- have been reported nationally.
<!--byline-->
By Lisa Rosetta
The Salt Lake Tribune
<!--date-->Updated: 12/18/2009 06:20:02 AM MST
Public health officials announced Thursday they have detected the first case of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 flu in Utah this season.
A Salt Lake County man over the age of 65, with chronic health conditions, was hospitalized earlier this fall with H1N1 and has since been released, said Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko.
It wasn't until Thursday morning that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notified the state that the man's strain is resistant to Tamiflu, a commonly prescribed antiviral drug.
So far the Tamiflu-resistant strain doesn't seem to be circulating in the community, said state epidemiologist Robert Rolfs. Even if it were, those who have been vaccinated for H1N1 flu have protection against it. This particular mutation hasn't changed the virus enough to allow it to resist vaccine-induced antibodies.
Rolfs said getting a high rate of the general population vaccinated is important because it reduces the transmission of the virus and its opportunities to mutate. The health department, however, estimates only 13 percent to 15 percent of Utahns have been innoculated.
"We'd like that number to be closer to 30 or 40 percent to get the type of immunity in the population we'd really need to slow down or prevent a third wave from occurring," Hudachko said.
Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the CDC, said since April there have been only 29 documented cases -- excluding the Utah man -- ofTamiflu-resistant H1N1 in the U.S. Of those, 19 people took Tamiflu to prevent or treat the flu; two did not; and the rest were still being investigated.
The occasional development of resistance to Tamiflu during treatment is not unexpected, he said.
While detecting Tamiflu-resistant strains is important, the CDC would only be concerned if it saw "sustained transmission from person to person going on in multiple places around the country -- that's the kind of clustering we're looking for and we just haven't seen that," Skinner said.
People infected with a Tamiflu-resistant strain can be treated with another antiviral drug, Relenza, though some are too sick to inhale it, he said. Another option is Peramivir, though it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration only for emergency use. Since the outbreak began, the CDC has received about 1,000 requests to use the drug, which is given intravenously. Its effectiveness is still being studied.
Flu-like activity in Utah has decreased for the seventh consecutive week, but it is still above the statewide epidemic threshold of 1.1 percent of clinic visits, according to the health department's latest report.
There have been a total of 25 H1N1-related deaths this season, including a woman between the ages of 50 and 64 who died last week, the Southwest Utah Health District reported. Hospitalizations due to both H1N1 and the seasonal flu have hit 857, which is 16 more than last week.
The state has now received approximately half of all the H1N1 vaccine it is scheduled to get; as of Dec. 9, an estimated 371,532 doses had been given out. All but two local health departments -- Bear River and Southeast -- are offering the vaccine to the general public.
<!--subtitle-->Rare strain ? Only 29 cases -- excluding Utah man -- have been reported nationally.
<!--byline-->
By Lisa Rosetta
The Salt Lake Tribune
<!--date-->Updated: 12/18/2009 06:20:02 AM MST
Public health officials announced Thursday they have detected the first case of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 flu in Utah this season.
A Salt Lake County man over the age of 65, with chronic health conditions, was hospitalized earlier this fall with H1N1 and has since been released, said Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko.
It wasn't until Thursday morning that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notified the state that the man's strain is resistant to Tamiflu, a commonly prescribed antiviral drug.
So far the Tamiflu-resistant strain doesn't seem to be circulating in the community, said state epidemiologist Robert Rolfs. Even if it were, those who have been vaccinated for H1N1 flu have protection against it. This particular mutation hasn't changed the virus enough to allow it to resist vaccine-induced antibodies.
Rolfs said getting a high rate of the general population vaccinated is important because it reduces the transmission of the virus and its opportunities to mutate. The health department, however, estimates only 13 percent to 15 percent of Utahns have been innoculated.
"We'd like that number to be closer to 30 or 40 percent to get the type of immunity in the population we'd really need to slow down or prevent a third wave from occurring," Hudachko said.
Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the CDC, said since April there have been only 29 documented cases -- excluding the Utah man -- ofTamiflu-resistant H1N1 in the U.S. Of those, 19 people took Tamiflu to prevent or treat the flu; two did not; and the rest were still being investigated.
The occasional development of resistance to Tamiflu during treatment is not unexpected, he said.
While detecting Tamiflu-resistant strains is important, the CDC would only be concerned if it saw "sustained transmission from person to person going on in multiple places around the country -- that's the kind of clustering we're looking for and we just haven't seen that," Skinner said.
People infected with a Tamiflu-resistant strain can be treated with another antiviral drug, Relenza, though some are too sick to inhale it, he said. Another option is Peramivir, though it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration only for emergency use. Since the outbreak began, the CDC has received about 1,000 requests to use the drug, which is given intravenously. Its effectiveness is still being studied.
Flu-like activity in Utah has decreased for the seventh consecutive week, but it is still above the statewide epidemic threshold of 1.1 percent of clinic visits, according to the health department's latest report.
There have been a total of 25 H1N1-related deaths this season, including a woman between the ages of 50 and 64 who died last week, the Southwest Utah Health District reported. Hospitalizations due to both H1N1 and the seasonal flu have hit 857, which is 16 more than last week.
The state has now received approximately half of all the H1N1 vaccine it is scheduled to get; as of Dec. 9, an estimated 371,532 doses had been given out. All but two local health departments -- Bear River and Southeast -- are offering the vaccine to the general public.
