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Drug-Resistant Flu Hits U.S.

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News


Published as "CDC Warns of Drug-Resistant Flu Bug
Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Bug Spreading in U.S."


A flu strain now spreading in the U.S. is resistant to the flu drug Tamiflu, the CDC today warned in an official health advisory to doctors.

Flu is a dangerous and sometimes deadly disease. But the Tamiflu-resistant strain isn't any more or less dangerous than other flu strains.

The Tamiflu-resistant virus is the flu bug most commonly seen so far this year. It's been detected in 12 states so far, mostly in Hawaii and Texas.

Tamiflu resistance wasn't unexpected. What was surprising was the rapid rise of Tamiflu resistance in this particular flu bug. Last year, about 11% of type A H1N1 flu bugs were resistant. So far this year, 49 out of 50 H1N1 viruses have been resistant.

Even so, it's still very early in the flu season. There's no way to know whether the Tamiflu-resistant flu bug will be this year's predominant
cause of flu.

"There is no crystal ball here," CDC Director Julie Gerberding, MD, tells WebMD. "We can't predict if this strain will end up being the most important one this year. It could fizzle out. ... We're giving a 'heads-up' to the clinicians, but we are not making drastic changes in our treatment and prevention recommendations."
Three different flu bugs are in circulation among humans. The resistant bug is the type A H1N1 strain. There's also the type A H3N2 strain, and one type B strain.

The current
flu vaccine protects against all three of these viruses -- and the current flu vaccine is an excellent match for the drug-resistant bug, Gerberding says. (More of this story)

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