Tamiflu to be Avoided says Oxford Medical Researchers

Tue, 11 Aug 2009
Studies have been concluded by an Oxford Medical Team which have found that benefit of using antivirals is likely to be ‘limited’.

The researchers discovered that prescribing Tamiflu reduces the symptoms of seasonal flu by only a day.

A systematic review of four trials of the treatment of seasonal flu in nearly 1,800 children treated with Tamiflu discovered that it lowered recovery time by a median of between 0.4 and 1.5 days, duration of cough by 1.3 days and fever by 1 day.

Children who had been given a 10-day course of antivirals given for post-exposure prophylaxis had a 7% lower risk of developing flu, with 13 children needing treatment in order to prevent an additional case of flu .

However, Tamiflu treatment made no significant impact on the number of asthma exacerbations in or the incidence of otitis media, only a non-significant reduction in the use of antibiotics .

The researchers, from the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at the University of Oxford, stated the study had implications for the upcoming swine and seasonal flu seasons.

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