Re: PAHO rejects report of resistant H1N1 cases on US-Mexico border
No Tamiflu Resistant Swine Flu Cases On Mexico/US Border -WHO
ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- The World Health Organization hasn't observed any cases of resistance against the swine flu antiviral drug Tamiflu along the U.S./ Mexican border, WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said Wednesday.
The remarks are in response to a press report quoting WHO Chief Medical Officer Maria Teresa Cerqueira as saying WHO had observed cases of the A/H1N1 swine flu virus along the border between the U.S. and Mexico that have shown a resistance to Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX) antiviral drug Tamiflu.
"The chief medical officer was misquoted," said Bhatiasevi. "She had said that there are cases of the H1N1/A virus along the border and that the WHO recommends surveying those cases in case a potential resistance occurs. But currently there are no cases of resistance along the border," Bhatiasevi said.
She added that a total of six cases in four countries have shown a resistance to Tamiflu, but that that's a "small number of isolated cases."
The countries are Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada, according to information on the WHO's web site.
Organization Web site: www.who.int
-By Julia Mengewein, Dow Jones Newswires
No Tamiflu Resistant Swine Flu Cases On Mexico/US Border -WHO
ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- The World Health Organization hasn't observed any cases of resistance against the swine flu antiviral drug Tamiflu along the U.S./ Mexican border, WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said Wednesday.
The remarks are in response to a press report quoting WHO Chief Medical Officer Maria Teresa Cerqueira as saying WHO had observed cases of the A/H1N1 swine flu virus along the border between the U.S. and Mexico that have shown a resistance to Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX) antiviral drug Tamiflu.
"The chief medical officer was misquoted," said Bhatiasevi. "She had said that there are cases of the H1N1/A virus along the border and that the WHO recommends surveying those cases in case a potential resistance occurs. But currently there are no cases of resistance along the border," Bhatiasevi said.
She added that a total of six cases in four countries have shown a resistance to Tamiflu, but that that's a "small number of isolated cases."
The countries are Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada, according to information on the WHO's web site.
Organization Web site: www.who.int
-By Julia Mengewein, Dow Jones Newswires
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