Treating H5N1 flu: Increasing dose of Tamiflu

Patients infected with H5N1 virus will be treated to double the dose (from 75mg to 150 mg / time).

Tamiflu medicine 75mg
(Photo: tabacco.blog-city.com)

On July 24, Dr. Nguyen Tran Hien, the Institute of National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said that in early August, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia will begin research and testing to find the effectiveness of the drug. treatment for bird flu - Tamiflu.

Accordingly, the trial was performed on a doubling of Tamiflu dose (from 75 mg to 150 mg / time) for patients infected with H5N1 virus.

According to Hien, the increase in this treatment dose is to find out if this dose can cause drug resistance; the side effects are not; whether the patient's immunity is good or not compared to the standard dose being prescribed for use in medical facilities .

This study will be conducted over a period of several years to find the best treatment for patients infected with H5N1 virus.

In Vietnam, the trial is expected to be carried out at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City and the Hanoi Institute of Clinical Medicine for Tropical Diseases.

In Vietnam today, in the Ministry of Health's treatment plan for influenza A, allows treatment facilities for influenza A patients to take Tamiflu into their patients and have a clear effect.According to this regimen, children aged 1 to 13 years use oral solution depending on their body weight:

- Under 15kg: 30mg x 2 times / day x 5 days;
- From 16-23kg: 45mg x 2 times / day x 5 days;
- From 24-40kg: 60mg 2 times / day x 5 days.
- Adults and children over 13 years of age: 75mg x 2 times / day x 5 days.

At the end of 2005, when bird flu was taking place in Vietnam, it was reported that in Vietnam there were signs of Tamiflu-resistant bird flu virus.

However, this information has been confirmed by Vietnamese experts for the first time that there is no information about patients infected with the H5N1 virus. Resistance is possible, but it is only an isolated case.

After that, at the meeting in early 2006 in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, it was selected to test Tamiflu treatment regimen in patients with influenza A / H5N1 and other serious flu.

This is a pilot program to adjust flu regimens, initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The decision to double the Tamiflu dose was based on an animal dose-boosting test showing that the influenza virus was effectively controlled, while in some influenza A / H5N1 patients treated Tamiflu was on track. The virus density did not decrease.

From the first case of influenza A / H5N1 in Vietnam (December 26, 2003), 93 cases have been reported in 32 provinces / cities, including 42 deaths.

Le Ha