Did drug-resistant swine flu spread at NC camp?
By MIKE STOBBE, The Associated Press, Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 9:51 a.m. ATLANTA Health officials are reporting what may be the first instance of a Tamiflu-resistant swine flu virus spreading from one person to another. It happened in July at a camp in western North Carolina, where two teenage girls – cabin mates – were diagnosed with the same drug-resistant strain of swine flu. Tamiflu is one of two flu medicines that help against swine flu, and health officials have been closely watching for signs that the virus is mutating, making the drugs ineffective. This week Roche Holding AG – the maker of Tamiflu – said it’s aware of 13 cases of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu around the world, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted nine in the United States. But all the others were single cases. In this instance, there seemed to be a spread. “That was the concerning thing about these cases,” said Dr. Zack Moore, a respiratory disease epidemiologist for the North Car
By MIKE STOBBE, The Associated Press Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 9:51 a.m. ATLANTA Health officials are reporting what may be the first instance of a Tamiflu-resistant swine flu virus spreading from one person to another. It happened in July at a camp in western North Carolina, where two teenage girls – cabin mates – were diagnosed with the same drug-resistant strain of swine flu. Tamiflu is one of two flu medicines that help against swine flu, and health officials have been closely watching for signs that the virus is mutating, making the drugs ineffective. This week Roche Holding AG – the maker of Tamiflu – said it’s aware of 13 cases of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu around the world, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted nine in the United States. But all the others were single cases. In this instance, there seemed to be a spread. “That was the concerning thing about these cases,” said Dr. Zack Moore, a respiratory disease epidemiologist for the North Caro
