Officials say Tamiflu vaccinations are still an effective tool against swine flu
Source: BBC NEWS
A sixth person has tested positive for a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu, public health officials say.
The news came shortly before two more swine flu-related deaths in Wales were reported, taking the total to 23.
The sixth patient is linked to five people who last week became the world’s first confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission of such a strain.
Another person in direct contact with the group at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, has been tested.
In the Tamiflu-related cases, three patients remain in hospital, with one in critical care and the other two treated in isolation.
Public health officials said vaccinations remain the most effective way of combating swine flu.
Dr Roland Salmon, director of the National Public Health Service for Wales’ Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, said it was “not unexpected” that more patients on a unit treating people with severe underlying health conditions would test positive for the Tamiflu-resistant strain.
He said: “In this case, the resistant strain of swine flu does not appear to be any more severe than the swine flu virus that has been circulating since April. Full Story
