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Posts Tagged ‘Swine Flu’

Geneva, April 2009. The World Health Organization (WHO) following raise the pandemic alert phase 5, has an available stock of three million treatment courses of oseltamivir (30 capsules million) donated by Roche Pharmaceuticals for use by countries that request for an eventual pandemic.

Oseltamivir is an antiviral effective against swine flu, and is part of the international stockpile of antiviral drugs that WHO will use to respond to an influenza pandemic. ‘This medicine may help reduce illness and death, along with other measures, could contain an emerging pandemic virus or slow down their national and international spread, WHO official said.

WHO Director Margaret Chan called on governments, pharmaceutical companies and international community to join efforts and resources to address the crisis. It also said that the manufacturer of oseltamivir, Roche has offered to license plants in other countries for the production of the respective drug, although not given the details of this offer.

Health Action International says that “countries should implement their plans to deal with a pandemic and WHO call to order medicines from the international stockpile of antivirals before being considered for acquisition.” This course requires making estimates about the needs for treatment according to the epidemiological projections.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) on its website, quoting the reassuring (or mea culpa?) Professor Liam Donaldson, Director General of Health, who acknowledged during a news conference that the virus eventually H1N1 had created a “swine flu” considerably less lethal than feared. ” Official recognition of this hoax has angered some health professionals, who have not failed to express their discontent over the BMJ’s website.

The Department of Health NHS (National Health) feared being overwhelmed by the intensity of influenza A/H1N1 …which does not happen: the NHS is the shock, and for good reason. Read the rest of this entry »