Home
Newsletter
Events
Blogs
Reports
Graphics
RSS
About Us
Support
Write for Us
Media Info
Advertising Info
Tamiflu

Tamiflu: From Effluent to Fowl to Flu

Sunday, October 21, 2007 by: Laura Weldon
Tags: Tamiflu, health news, Natural News

Most Viewed Articles
https://www.naturalnews.com/022142_flu_Tamiflu_drug.html
Delicious
diaspora
Print
Email
Share

(NewsTarget) Tamiflu is widely touted as the only stopgap measure available to fight a potential pandemic of avian flu. This antiviral drug is said to reduce the severity of the symptoms but does not offer a cure. Countries are stockpiling millions of doses. The maker, Swiss firm Roche, has seen profits soar as increased media attention is given to the threat of bird flu.

Recently scientists found that Tamiflu does not break down in sewage treatment systems. Like many other pharmaceutical products, this drug is still present after the processes of filtration, treatment with chemicals and digestion by microbes. That means the medication is discharged into lakes and rivers.

Widespread treatment of a population with Tamiflu during a flu season or pandemic could create high levels of the drug in wastewater flowing into waterways. The consequences could have a devastating impact on the way flu strains mutate.

Avian flu originates in waterfowl such as wild ducks. Typically these are low pathogenic influenza viruses of little consequence to humans. But if common human flu recombinates with avian flu in the presence of drugs such as Tamiflu, new strains could develop built-in resistance to these medications.

A study published by Public Library of Science (Plos) reports this pattern of resistance is already evident. During the 2004-05 flu season in Japan, six million people were treated with Tamiflu. Now that country has significantly increased rate of resistance to Tamiflu, even in those who did not take the drug.

Tamiflu does not break down in sewage treatment process www.physorg.com/news110616268.html

Tamiflu resistance in Japan

www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/04/03/influenza-drugs.html


About the author

Laura Weldon lives on an organic farm and believes in bliss. Learn more about her book "Free Range Learning" by visiting at www.lauragraceweldon.com


Receive Our Free Email Newsletter

Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.


comments powered by Disqus



Natural News Wire (Sponsored Content)

Science.News
Science News & Studies
Medicine.News
Medicine News and Information
Food.News
Food News & Studies
Health.News
Health News & Studies
Herbs.News
Herbs News & Information
Pollution.News
Pollution News & Studies
Cancer.News
Cancer News & Studies
Climate.News
Climate News & Studies
Survival.News
Survival News & Information
Gear.News
Gear News & Information
Glitch.News
News covering technology, stocks, hackers, and more