Patients suffer bad reaction to swine flu treatment
Some people have had an adverse reactions to the Tamiflu treatment for swine flu. Photo: Getty Images
Monday July 27 2009
The agency that licenses medicines in Britain has received 150 reports of suspected adverse reactions to the Tamiflu treatment for swine flu.
The figure was released yesterday as GPs said some patients were choosing not to take the drug because of concerns about the possible side effects.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the 150 reports received within the UK up until July 23 mention 241 separate side effects, most of which were mild and already recognised as linked with the anti-viral drug.
They include "mild allergic and gastrointestinal events", such as diarrhoea and vomiting. There were five reports involving nine suspected adverse reactions to Relenza, the rival drug to Tamiflu which is taken by inhalation and is less widely used.
The MHRA has allocated a dedicated section of its website to receive reports of side effects to Tamiflu from doctors and the public, in order to spot any developing trends.
A spokesman said: "Obviously there are a lot more people taking Tamiflu and Relenza, so we set up a specific site people can go to to report any potential side effects so we can monitor its safety. A report of a reaction does not mean it has been caused by the drug in question -- a mere suspicion will suffice."
One case of a suspected fatal reaction involving a patient who suffered liver failure after taking Tamiflu was later attributed to hepatitis.
The MHRA said previous reports from outside the UK had suggested a link between Tamiflu and liver failure but none had shown a causal link. "Hepatic adverse events remain under close monitoring," the spokesman said.
A second report of a fatal reaction was being investigated, he said.
Doctors said the number of adverse reaction reports was tiny in the context of the tens of thousands of patients who have been prescribed Tamiflu. The UK government estimated there were 100,000 new cases of swine flu last week.
The commonest side effects of Tamiflu are diarrhoea, nausea, stomach pain and vomiting.
Disturbances
Reports from Japan, where Tamiflu has been widely used against seasonal flu, have linked the drug in rare instances with unusual neurological and psychiatric disturbances in children.
Doctors yesterday backed the advice of the British government's chief medical officer, Liam Donaldson, that patients with swine flu should be offered anti-viral drugs, but added that it was up to the patients whether they accepted them.
Richard Vautrey, a GP in Leeds, said: "In my experience, when patients are reassured about the likely pattern of their illness and the possible side effects of the (anti-viral) drugs, they decide they are better off not taking them." (© Independent News Service)
- Jeremy Laurence in London
