Tamiflu’s Widespread Use, Effectiveness Is Questioned

Our Review Summary

This story discusses findings of a meta-analysis, or review of many studies, of anti-viral medications conducted by European researchers and published in the Lancet. According to this review of 51 randomized controlled trials, antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu are only effective in reducing symptoms of influenza type A and B by about 50%, and not as effective in the cases of “flu-like” illnesses. Doctors can and should test patients to determine if they have influenza type A and B viruses before prescribing anti-viral medications such as Tamiflu; the drugs should not be taken for flu-like symptoms and non-life threatening influenza. In fact, Tamiflu is ineffective for other types of flu-like illnesses. The main disadvantage of the misuse of anti-viral medications is the risk of developing a resistance to these drugs, which is mentioned in this article. However, there is no mention of side effects of anti-viral drugs, which can include gastrointestinal problems, nausea, insomnia and hallucinations. The risk ofthese side effects is greater in older people. No quantitative data is provided on either side effects or benefits on any of the anti-viral medications. The message perhaps not conveyed strongly enough by this piece is that there is no need to stockpile Tamiflu. Considering that WHO, CDC and other health organizations continue to recommend stockpiling Tamiflu, the cost of this practice would be interesting to note. No information on the cost of anti-viral drugs is provided. There was also little discussion to counter the statement: “Roche and the WHO agreed there aren’t yet large human studies showing that Tamiflu is effective against bird flu. But they said animal studies and anecdotal evidence in humans show the drug is active against the H5N1 avian-flu virus.” There is no credible evidence at this time that Tamiflu is effective against avian flu. Anecdotal evidence and animal studies are insufficient, and further controlled clinical trials on humans are needed to determine if these anti-virals aree effective, safe and appropriate for a large population. Tamiflu reduces the symptoms of the flu by only 1-1.5 days and it may not prevent transmission of the virus. While the drug may be appropriate as flu prevention in a household, it would not likely be very effective during a flu epidemic.