News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A detailed genetic analysis of an oseltamivir-resistant 2009 H1N1 virus responsible for a cluster of illnesses in Australia in 2011 found evidence that the viruses maintained their fitness when the resistance mutation was present, suggesting that widespread emergence of the strain may be more likely, according to the researchers.

(CIDRAP News) – The tuberculosis toll in Europe continued a slow overall decline in 2010, but the treatment success rate for the disease is slipping as drug-resistant strains of TB grow more common, according to a report released today by the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

(CIDRAP News) – A newly published analysis of oseltamivir-resistant influenza viruses collected last winter in Norway hints that they may increase an infected person's risk of pneumonia and sinus infections, but the small number of patients in the study means the finding is no more than a hint at this point.

(CIDRAP News) – Amid concern about rising resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in influenza A/H1N1 viruses, a Dutch team this week reported the death of a leukemia patient who was infected with an H1N1 virus that was resistant to the antiviral drug.

(CIDRAP News) – With influenza season well under way in the southern hemisphere, one of the three kinds of seasonal influenza virus is becoming increasingly resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), the World Health Organization (WHO) reported last week.

(CIDRAP News) – European health officials today reported signs of an increasing rate of resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in Europe's predominant subtype of influenza virus, but they cautioned that the rate seen in isolates tested so far may not reflect the real situation.