Egypt is on high alert after the H5N1 strain of the avian flu became more resistant to the Tamiflu antiviral drug predominantly used to combat the disease, the health minister has been quoted as saying. "The health ministry remains in a state of maximum alert and is reviewing its strategy in combating avian flu following the mutation of the H5N1 virus," Hatem al-Gabali told the top-selling state-owned Al-Ahram daily Monday.The World Health Organisation announced last week that a mutated strain of the virus with "reduced susceptibility" to Tamiflu had been discovered in two people infected with bird flu in northern Egypt. The two Egyptians were from the same household and died in late December.
A total of 11 people have died of the highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza since the virus was first detected in Egypt almost a year ago, making it the world's worst hit non-Asian country.
The Egyptian government has launched a broad awareness campaign in a bid to curb the occurrence of infections caused by domestic poultry rearings. But in recent weeks, none of the infected humans have survived despite being treated with Tamiflu, while the mortality rate hovered around 50 percent in the first half of 2006.
| Tamiflu isn't a great drug: you have to start treatment within the first day of symptoms or it's pretty much worthless, and most patients don't report to a medical facility the first day. |
"The resort to Tamiflu continues, but additional medication now has to be given to complement the treatment," health ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shaheen told AFP. "These drugs are part of the Amantadine antivirals and are available commercially under various names," he explained. Tamiflu-resistant strains of the avian influenza virus were found in three unrelated patients in Vietnam in 2005 but did not spread.
Health organisations fear the virus could mutate into a strain transmissible from humans to humans, prompting a pandemic.