From the Canadian Press:
The province that experienced an acute outbreak of swine flu on its northern reserves is making it easier for aboriginals and other vulnerable patients to get free antiviral drugs in a bid to lessen the impact of the virus come fall.
Manitoba has set out who can get Tamiflu more quickly under its pharmacare program. The groups include aboriginals, those with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, smokers and the obese. The homeless and those with immune deficiencies, including cancer patients, will also get priority.
The changes, which will make it easier for doctors to prescribe Tamiflu quickly, were set out in a regulation that takes effect Aug. 18. People who don't meet the medical criteria can still buy a prescription for Tamiflu but it may not be covered by the province.
Under the old system, doctors had to justify each prescription which involved phone calls, faxes and paperwork.
Provincial Health Minister Theresa Oswald said her government wants to make sure that those who need the antivirals get them quickly. ...more
Showing posts with label Tamiflu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tamiflu. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Canada dismisses warning about flu drug
From the Globe and Mail:
Canadian health authorities will not change their practice of prescribing the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to treat cases of pandemic H1N1 flu in children, despite a new study that raises questions about the drug’s effectiveness.
Researchers at the University of Oxford cautioned about the broad use of anti-viral drugs to treat children 12 years of age and younger suffering from seasonal flu. They found anti-viral drugs have little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, ear infections or bacterial infections in children. Tamiflu was also linked to increased vomiting.
The authors questioned whether children would face the same risks when being treated with anti-virals for the pandemic H1N1 flu virus.
But the Public Health Agency of Canada assured parents Monday that Tamiflu has a strong safety profile, and has recommended doctors prescribe it for infection prevention and to treat cases of H1N1 in infants under one year. ...more
Canadian health authorities will not change their practice of prescribing the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to treat cases of pandemic H1N1 flu in children, despite a new study that raises questions about the drug’s effectiveness.
Researchers at the University of Oxford cautioned about the broad use of anti-viral drugs to treat children 12 years of age and younger suffering from seasonal flu. They found anti-viral drugs have little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, ear infections or bacterial infections in children. Tamiflu was also linked to increased vomiting.
The authors questioned whether children would face the same risks when being treated with anti-virals for the pandemic H1N1 flu virus.
But the Public Health Agency of Canada assured parents Monday that Tamiflu has a strong safety profile, and has recommended doctors prescribe it for infection prevention and to treat cases of H1N1 in infants under one year. ...more
Thursday, August 06, 2009
H1N1 drugs available to First Nations, official says
From the Winnipeg Free Press:
A senior Manitoba Health official said its stockpile of H1N1 antiviral drugs was made available to Health Canada for distribution among the province's First Nation communities.
Terry Goertzen, an assistant deputy minister of health, said Ottawa did not request from Manitoba more than the 45 courses, or 450 doses, of Tamiflu it was given in mid-May to deal with an H1N1 outbreak on reserves.
"When it comes to health care on First Nation communities, (Ottawa) takes the lead," Goertzen said, adding no special requests for additional antiviral drugs were made to deal with the outbreak in the Island Lake communities.
Chiefs from Garden Hill and St. Theresa Point are demanding to know why their communities received next to no antiviral drugs when the northwestern Ontario First Nation of Sandy Lake was given 1,800 doses to control an H1N1 outbreak there. ...more
A senior Manitoba Health official said its stockpile of H1N1 antiviral drugs was made available to Health Canada for distribution among the province's First Nation communities.
Terry Goertzen, an assistant deputy minister of health, said Ottawa did not request from Manitoba more than the 45 courses, or 450 doses, of Tamiflu it was given in mid-May to deal with an H1N1 outbreak on reserves.
"When it comes to health care on First Nation communities, (Ottawa) takes the lead," Goertzen said, adding no special requests for additional antiviral drugs were made to deal with the outbreak in the Island Lake communities.
Chiefs from Garden Hill and St. Theresa Point are demanding to know why their communities received next to no antiviral drugs when the northwestern Ontario First Nation of Sandy Lake was given 1,800 doses to control an H1N1 outbreak there. ...more
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tamiflu approved for Canadian babies
From CBC News:
Canadian infants under one year old who are sick with the flu may receive the antiviral drug Tamiflu, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced Thursday under new swine flu pandemic guidelines.
The Public Health Agency of Canada prepared the interim guidance to help doctors treating infants with influenza-like illness during the H1N1 pandemic.
"The public health emergency created by the pandemic, and this group's increased vulnerability from influenza, created the urgent circumstances that deemed this necessary," Aglukkaq said.
"Although there are limited data supporting the use of Tamiflu in children under one, there now exists an urgent need for recommendations to treat this population, given this group's increased risk for morbidity and mortality from influenza," the agency said on its website.
Regulators in the United States and Britain have made similar changes, Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief medical officer of health, told a teleconference with reporters. ...more
Canadian infants under one year old who are sick with the flu may receive the antiviral drug Tamiflu, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced Thursday under new swine flu pandemic guidelines.
The Public Health Agency of Canada prepared the interim guidance to help doctors treating infants with influenza-like illness during the H1N1 pandemic.
"The public health emergency created by the pandemic, and this group's increased vulnerability from influenza, created the urgent circumstances that deemed this necessary," Aglukkaq said.
"Although there are limited data supporting the use of Tamiflu in children under one, there now exists an urgent need for recommendations to treat this population, given this group's increased risk for morbidity and mortality from influenza," the agency said on its website.
Regulators in the United States and Britain have made similar changes, Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief medical officer of health, told a teleconference with reporters. ...more
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Que. man first case of drug-resistant H1N1 strain in Canada
From Canada.com:
The first Canadian case of swine flu that is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu raises a red flag but flu experts Wednesday were still far from pushing the panic button.
The resistant virus was found in a Quebec man, 60, who was given a preventive dose of the antiviral as a precaution because he had a pulmonary condition. His son fell sick with the virus.
But the father also became ill and researchers at a Quebec City laboratory on emerging viruses and antiviral resistance discovered he had a new strain of drug-resistant H1N1 virus.
It's believed the virus adapted to the drug and became resistant. There is no evidence the man transmitted the resistant virus to anyone else and he recovered quickly without going to hospital. ...more
The first Canadian case of swine flu that is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu raises a red flag but flu experts Wednesday were still far from pushing the panic button.
The resistant virus was found in a Quebec man, 60, who was given a preventive dose of the antiviral as a precaution because he had a pulmonary condition. His son fell sick with the virus.
But the father also became ill and researchers at a Quebec City laboratory on emerging viruses and antiviral resistance discovered he had a new strain of drug-resistant H1N1 virus.
It's believed the virus adapted to the drug and became resistant. There is no evidence the man transmitted the resistant virus to anyone else and he recovered quickly without going to hospital. ...more
Monday, July 06, 2009
Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu found in Hong Kong
From CBC News:
Health officials in Hong Kong reported Friday a single instance in which a strain of the swine flu was found to be resistant to Tamiflu, the main antiviral drug used to treat the virus.
The case involved a 16-year-old girl who came from the United States in mid-June, had mild symptoms, and was eventually discharged.
The current strain of H1N1 influenza A virus has been circulating in several countries since it first appeared in Mexico in April.
The Tamiflu-resistant strain in Hong Kong was found during routine sensitivity testing of the swine flu virus to both oseltamivir and zanamivir, the Hong Kong Department of Health said in a statement on its website.
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are the two antiviral drugs that appear to be effective in treating the H1N1 virus, Health Canada says. ...more
Health officials in Hong Kong reported Friday a single instance in which a strain of the swine flu was found to be resistant to Tamiflu, the main antiviral drug used to treat the virus.
The case involved a 16-year-old girl who came from the United States in mid-June, had mild symptoms, and was eventually discharged.
The current strain of H1N1 influenza A virus has been circulating in several countries since it first appeared in Mexico in April.
The Tamiflu-resistant strain in Hong Kong was found during routine sensitivity testing of the swine flu virus to both oseltamivir and zanamivir, the Hong Kong Department of Health said in a statement on its website.
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are the two antiviral drugs that appear to be effective in treating the H1N1 virus, Health Canada says. ...more
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Canada planning to change breakdown of flu drugs in pandemic stockpile
From the Canadian Press:
Canada will adjust the mix of antiviral drugs in an emergency pandemic stockpile this year, a response to concerns over the vulnerability of the main drug in the arsenal, Tamiflu, to the development of viral resistance.
Supplies of the drug zanamivir - sold as Relenza by GlaxoSmithKline - will be beefed up in the national emergency stockpile, says Dr. Arlene King, the senior official responsible for pandemic influenza planning at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
As well, some stocks of an older flu drug, amantadine, will be added to the mix as an inexpensive extra. Scientists are studying whether using Tamiflu in combination with amantadine or a sister drug, rimantadine, will lower the likelihood flu strains will develop resistance to the few drugs currently marketed to treat influenza.
"I think the general view is that from a scientific perspective, greater diversification (of stockpiles) would be desirable," says King, director general of the public health agency's centre for immunization and respiratory infectious diseases. ...more
Canada will adjust the mix of antiviral drugs in an emergency pandemic stockpile this year, a response to concerns over the vulnerability of the main drug in the arsenal, Tamiflu, to the development of viral resistance.
Supplies of the drug zanamivir - sold as Relenza by GlaxoSmithKline - will be beefed up in the national emergency stockpile, says Dr. Arlene King, the senior official responsible for pandemic influenza planning at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
As well, some stocks of an older flu drug, amantadine, will be added to the mix as an inexpensive extra. Scientists are studying whether using Tamiflu in combination with amantadine or a sister drug, rimantadine, will lower the likelihood flu strains will develop resistance to the few drugs currently marketed to treat influenza.
"I think the general view is that from a scientific perspective, greater diversification (of stockpiles) would be desirable," says King, director general of the public health agency's centre for immunization and respiratory infectious diseases. ...more
Monday, January 28, 2008
Surprising rise in drug resistance in seasonal flu viruses worries experts
From the Canadian Press:
Influenza experts admitted Monday they have been startled by the discovery this season of an unexpectedly high number of human flu viruses that appear to be naturally resistant to Tamiflu, the drug that countries around the world are stockpiling for use in the next flu pandemic.
The viruses have been isolated from people infected with influenza A viruses of the H1N1 subtype in a number of European countries.
Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg has reported finding one such virus, in a child believed to have caught the flu abroad, and is speeding up testing to see if there are more.
The World Health Organization is convening a virtual meeting of experts Tuesday to try to get a handle on how far afield the resistant virus has been found, how common it is and what the findings signify. ...more
Influenza experts admitted Monday they have been startled by the discovery this season of an unexpectedly high number of human flu viruses that appear to be naturally resistant to Tamiflu, the drug that countries around the world are stockpiling for use in the next flu pandemic.
The viruses have been isolated from people infected with influenza A viruses of the H1N1 subtype in a number of European countries.
Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg has reported finding one such virus, in a child believed to have caught the flu abroad, and is speeding up testing to see if there are more.
The World Health Organization is convening a virtual meeting of experts Tuesday to try to get a handle on how far afield the resistant virus has been found, how common it is and what the findings signify. ...more
Monday, June 18, 2007
Allocation of antivirals for flu pandemic workers stirs debate
From CBC News:
Public health officials across Canada are grappling with the medical and ethical issues of giving front-line health-care workers preventive antiviral drugs if a flu pandemic strikes.
The federal and provincial governments have stockpiled more than 500 million doses of antiviral drugs to prepare for a pandemic.
Under the current federal plan, the drugs may only be used to treat people once they are ill, a reversal of an original decision two years ago to stockpile antivirals as a preventive treatment or prophylaxis for front-line health-care workers as well. ...more
Public health officials across Canada are grappling with the medical and ethical issues of giving front-line health-care workers preventive antiviral drugs if a flu pandemic strikes.
The federal and provincial governments have stockpiled more than 500 million doses of antiviral drugs to prepare for a pandemic.
Under the current federal plan, the drugs may only be used to treat people once they are ill, a reversal of an original decision two years ago to stockpile antivirals as a preventive treatment or prophylaxis for front-line health-care workers as well. ...more
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Changes to Canadian labelling of Tamiflu
From Health Canada:
Health Canada wishes to inform Canadians that the Canadian labelling for Tamiflu has recently been updated to include new safety information resulting from adverse reaction reports of abnormal or suicidal behaviour in Japanese children or teenagers taking Tamiflu. As of February 28, 2007, there have been no Canadian reports of deaths or psychiatric adverse events such as abnormal or suicidal behaviour in children or teenagers.
Health Canada has also received preliminary information on eight new cases in Japan of self-harm in patients taking Tamiflu, and is aware that Japan has now restricted use of Tamiflu in patients 10 to 19 years old. Further information is expected from the manufacturer, Hoffman-LaRoche Limited, and appropriate measures will be taken if necessary following analysis. ...more
Health Canada wishes to inform Canadians that the Canadian labelling for Tamiflu has recently been updated to include new safety information resulting from adverse reaction reports of abnormal or suicidal behaviour in Japanese children or teenagers taking Tamiflu. As of February 28, 2007, there have been no Canadian reports of deaths or psychiatric adverse events such as abnormal or suicidal behaviour in children or teenagers.
Health Canada has also received preliminary information on eight new cases in Japan of self-harm in patients taking Tamiflu, and is aware that Japan has now restricted use of Tamiflu in patients 10 to 19 years old. Further information is expected from the manufacturer, Hoffman-LaRoche Limited, and appropriate measures will be taken if necessary following analysis. ...more
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)