WHO sends Tamiflu to Iraq after bird flu confirmed
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L03158369.htm
GENEVA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation
(WHO) said on Friday that it was sending several thousand
courses of influenza drug Tamiflu to Iraq to help treat
any further cases of deadly bird flu in humans.
A course is a packet of 10 pills which are to be taken
two times a day for five days.
The teenage girl, who died on Jan. 17, lived near an area of
northern Iraq frequented by migratory birds, blamed for the spread
of bird flu out of Asia. It is also not far from Iraq's border
with Turkey, where 12 human cases have been confirmed by the WHO,
among them four children who died.
Samples from two other suspected Iraqi cases are expected soon
in London for final tests. One is the uncle of the dead girl,
who died himself on Jan. 27, while the other is a woman of 54
who is being treated for respiratory illness.
The WHO said on Thursday an additional two people were in
hospital in the northern city of Sulaimaniya with "symptoms
suggestive of H5N1 infection". Iraq said earlier this week
it was also treating 12 patients for suspected bird flu.
There have been no confirmed reports of the H5N1 virus in
poultry in Iraq.
Nevertheless, the WHO says it is confident the virus is still being
transmitted by birds, and that there is no sign yet of a feared
mutation which would make it easier for humans to catch directly
from other people.
Any such genetic change could herald the start of a pandemic, or
global epidemic, in which millions could die. Only 86 fatalities have
been recorded so far in seven countries, most of them in Asia,
since the virus re-emerged in 2003.
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WHO's paying for this Tamiflu?
Rumsfeld was CEO of Gilead, the patent holder on Tamiflu.
According to Fortune, Rumsfeld currently holds a Gilead stake
valued at between $5 million and $25 million as of Jan 26.
Tamiflu could make avian flu pandemic worse
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10361216
FDA Investigating Tamiflu Deaths in Children:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4447434.stm
Tamiflu orders, cancer drugs boost Roche results
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/02/AR2006020201346.html
Roche's sales of Tamiflu hit 1.558 billion francs in 2005 versus
330 million in 2004 and Humer predicted the drug would
bring in between 1.0 and 1.2 billion francs in 2006.
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