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Drug-resistant flu detected, cases in US

2024-06-17 10:00:00, Shëndeti CNA
Drug-resistant flu detected, cases in US
Photo courtesy of Bloomberg

A rare variant of the flu that has shown some resistance to commonly used antiviral treatment has been detected in at least two people in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Influenza viruses are constantly changing, but this variant has two mutations linked to sites that can reduce the effectiveness of treatment with oseltamivir phosphate, known by the brand name Tamiflu.

"There is active global surveillance looking for these mutations," said Andy Pekosz, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"We want to know when they're going to show up because that could have really big implications for how we treat the flu," he said. 

For now, however, experts say the threat is low.

Cases of the "double mutant" flu variant were identified in 15 countries on five continents, including two cases in the US, according to a report published Wednesday in the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. But they are very rare, representing only about 1% of samples collected between May 2023 and February 2024.

The double-mutated variant has shown up to a 16-fold reduction in the effectiveness of Tamiflu, according to the CDC report — but that's based on laboratory studies./ CNA 





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