By Jennifer Corbett Dooren
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday tests involving antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza against the swine flu suggest the drugs would be effective treatments.
The CDC tested virus samples from 13 patients infected with the swine flu against antiviral drugs including Tamiflu, made by Roche (RHHBY), and Relenza, from GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK).
The tests showed Tamiflu and Relenza were "susceptible" to the swine flu samples, which suggests the drugs would be effective at combating the illness. The CDC said all of the swine flu samples were resistant to older antiviral drugs amantadine and rimantadine. The CDC hasn't recommended use of such drugs since 2005 when they were shown to be resistant to viruses cause seasonal influenza viruses.
The CDC noted that Tamiflu was shown to be resistant to some seasonal influenza strains circulating during the 2008-2009 influenza season.
The U.S. government has started shipping Tamiflu, Relenza, test kits and other supplies to states to manage the growing swine-flu outbreak, which has sickened at least 64 people in the U.S. Swine flu, first seen in Mexico, has also been found in several other countries in the past two days.
The type of swine flu is being caused by an influenza A strain that's a combination of pig, bird and human viruses that hasn't been previously identified in people, the CDC has said. Health officials are concerned it will spark the next influenza pandemic, or a widespread illness caused by a new type of virus to which humans have little or no immunity.
-By Jennifer Corbett Dooren, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9294; jennifer.corbett@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2009 16:05 ET (20:05 GMT)