It has been recently reported that two H1N1 patients in Maryland and one in Virginia have been hospitalized with a drug-resistant form of the virus. Cases have also popped up in Seattle and Duke University where patients were resistant to Tamiflu, one of the drugs used on the sickest patients.
The problem isn’t relegated to just the U.S. In Wales, health officials have reported that six people have recently tested positive for a Tamiflu-resistant strain of H1N1. But according to the World Health Organization, Tamiflu resistance in some H1N1 patients with badly weakened immune systems does not seem to reflect a major change in the virus’ susceptibility to the front-line drug.
WHO has been informed of two recent clusters of patients infected with oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 viruses. Both clusters, detected in Wales, UK and North Carolina, USA, occurred in a single ward in a hospital, and both involved patients whose immune systems were severely compromised or suppressed. Transmission of resistant virus from one patient to another is suspected in both outbreaks.
In our November issue, we ran an in-depth feature on how to prepare for H1N1’s next wave. Within the article, Regina Phelps, founder of Emergency Management & Safety Solutions, pinpointed the following lessons we have learned so far from the H1N1 pandemic.
- Having a plan is not enough
- Employees will look to their employers for assurance
- The characteristics of H1N1 make it especially worrisome for the business community
- Certain groups are at greater risk of complications from H1N1
To read the entire article, plus an informative piece about learning from past pandemics by Gisele Norris, managing director for Aon Healthcare’s western region, click here.
And to wrap it up, here’s a small chart showing important H1N1 figures:
[TABLE=4]
nice post. thanks.