Experts worry that antivirals may mask avian influenza
Aug 24, 2006 (CIDRAP News) ? Avian flu experts in two of the countries with the most human H5N1 avian influenza cases to date?Vietnam and Thailand?are warning that the antiviral drug oseltamivir may mask the infection and complicate laboratory detection.
Menno de Jong, a virologist at an Oxford University clinical research unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, told Bloomberg News this week that avian influenza may go undetected in patients who take the drug days before testing. An incorrect diagnosis is problematic because it may hamper early detection of disease spread.
(more at site)
Aug 24, 2006 (CIDRAP News) ? Avian flu experts in two of the countries with the most human H5N1 avian influenza cases to date?Vietnam and Thailand?are warning that the antiviral drug oseltamivir may mask the infection and complicate laboratory detection.
Menno de Jong, a virologist at an Oxford University clinical research unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, told Bloomberg News this week that avian influenza may go undetected in patients who take the drug days before testing. An incorrect diagnosis is problematic because it may hamper early detection of disease spread.
(more at site)
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