WP: Bird Flu Drug Rendered Useless

[amandabeech]

I expected Pandemic to post this earlier.


Bird Flu Drug Rendered Useless
Chinese Chickens Given Medication Made for Humans

By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, June 18, 2005; Page A01

HONG KONG -- Chinese farmers, acting with the approval and encouragement of government officials, have tried to suppress major bird flu outbreaks among chickens with an antiviral drug meant for humans, animal health experts said. International researchers now conclude that this is why the drug will no longer protect people in case of a worldwide bird flu epidemic.

China's use of the drug amantadine, which violated international livestock guidelines, was widespread years before China acknowledged any infection of its poultry, according to pharmaceutical company executives and veterinarians.

Amantadine is one of two types of medication for treating human influenza. But researchers determined last year that the H5N1 bird flu strain circulating in Vietnam and Thailand, the two countries hardest hit by the virus, had become resistant, leaving only an alternative drug that is difficult to produce in large amounts and much less affordable, especially for developing countries in Southeast Asia.

China has previously run afoul of international agencies for its response to public and agricultural health crises, notably the SARS epidemic that began in 2002. China's health minister was fired after the government acknowledged it had covered up the extent of the SARS outbreak by preventing state-run media from reporting about the disease for months and by minimizing its seriousness.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/17/AR2005061701214.html>

Infected chickens are supposed to be killed, not injected with anti-virals. Alternatively, chickens should be vaccinated ahead of flu season. By giving so much anti-virals to chickens for many years, the Chinese have caused the virus to mutate so that is cannot be killed by the least-expensive treatment. This means that if Bird Flu turns into a serious, serious pandemic like the 1918 Spanish Flu, the least costly and easiest to produce treatment is now ineffective, and more people will die. Thanks China.

edit:link

[atommom]

1. For crying out loud, have we not learned anything over the past

100 years? Pathogens can mutate, and they can mutate fast when their survival is at stake. I can't say I'm surprised that this happened, though. It's the same kind of short-term solution we see so much of in our own country. The experts are ignored in favor of those who want a cheap, quick fix to keep the cash rolling in.

[aquart]

3. It's not the only non-regulated area of Chinese commerce.

They're poisoning their groundwater with used computer parts.

[Warpy]

6. It sounds from the article that China was using Amantadine

prophylactically, to prevent the chickens from sickening in the first place, not to treat infected birds. Giving it to an infected bird would likely have no effect, as the avian flu kills them too quickly for the drug to have any sort of effect.

All animals that are overcrowded in factory farms are being given antibiotics and other drugs to prevent contagion. What the long term consequence of this is in humans who consume the meat and in the environment that has to accept the contaminated leftovers we simply don't know. What factory farms do know is that they can cram more miserable animals into pens, barns and feed lots if they feed them antibiotics.

There is little we can do to prevent diseases like this from arising and mutating to cross species. Our best hope lies in the development of a vaccination, not in the use of antiviral drugs. That the NIH and domestic pharmaceutical companies haven't joined forces to do so speaks of a callous disregard for the lives of American people.

[atommom]

8. It's just frustrating to see the Chinese going down the same misguided

path ... giving the animals prophylactic drugs, when we know that practice can lead to very undesirable consequences.

[pandemic_1918]

26. Time Line for Pandemic Move to Phase 6

The time line of the pandemic progression is why scientists are concerned

http://news.google.com/news?q=phase%206%20bird%20flu&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wn

[pandemic_1918]

23. H5N1 is Amantadine Sensitive Outside of Vietnam and Thailand

The China story on Amantadine is pretty far off the mark. Most H5N1, including isolates in China, are Amantadine sensitive.

All isolates from Vietnam and Thailand are resistance, but this is probably due to amantadine use there, not in China

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&tab=wn&ie=UTF-8&q=amantadine+thailand

[Trillo]

2. Are U.S. Poultry farmers still using

Baytril?
fluoroquinolones in poultry

[still_one]

4. oh, it is China's fault now for the bird flu mutates

B.S.

Why do you think they need to give new influenza shots every year

It is because the virus is CONSTANTLY mutating into new forms.

It may become more lethal or less, no one KNOWS

In other words H5N1 would mutate anyway. The danger is that it mutates in a lethal, but less efficient form

[truthisfreedom]

5. when a country has that many people to feed, of course they take the short

cut. don't fault them for trying to spend the minimum to save their livestock. we pay them the minimum, they have the minimum to work with.

this is because we need $9.99 blenders and toasters and $39.99 microwave ovens at k-mart and target. it's not because of some horrible conspiracy by the Chinese government to destroy the world with a mutant virus.

[amandabeech]

7. I defer to anyone with a science background here.

I posted for discussion purposes only.

As to any political ramifications, I hope that any country, rich or poor, facing a public health situation with which it does not have the expertise or funds to deal, will bring the situation to the attention of the WHO immediately, so that those who can help and are willing can do so. Unfortunately, that probably doesn't include the U.S. these days. To do otherwise may jeopardize the lives of many individuals within said country and throughout the world.

I also applaud whistle blowers from any country who let the light of day shine on shady dealings, cover-ups and clearly inappropriate responses in public health situations. This is an invitation to anyone in our CDC--who knows what * mischief is going on there.

[still_one]

15. From everything I have read the world health organization

is working with China. In fact they have people there now

That is not to sya that things are being hidden from WHO, but after the SARS fiasco, it would be extremely foolish for them to do so, and counter-productive

[pandemic_1918]

24. WHO Not in China (Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve)

WHO has requested a visit to Qinghai. To my knowledge, their request has not been granted

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/06090502/H5N1_WHO_Qinghai_Visit.html

[depakid]

9. Amantadine IS NOT Tamiflu- don't get fooled by the Post

and amantadine was proven (16 months ago) to be of very limited effectiveness against H5N1-

Once again, the Post is deliberately slanting a science story. I have no idea what their wierd agenda is this time- but suffice it to say that it's very imprudent to believe (or frankly- even to read) ANYTHING these folks print anymore. They're manipulative and sometimes (as in the case of two science stories I've read in the past 6 months- outright dishonest). You'd do as well with the National Enquirer.

From the CDC Health Alert dated February 2, 2004

"Genetic sequencing of human H5N1 isolates from Vietnam additionally showed characteristics commonly known to confer antiviral resistance to amantadine and rimantadine, two antiviral drugs used for influenza. The remaining two antivirals (oseltamivir and zanamavir) should still be effective."

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/professional/han020302.htm

From the WHO Communicable Disease Surveillance & Response (CSR) dated Feruary 12, 2004

Susceptibility of H5N1 viruses to antiviral drugs

Data received from the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network indicate that recent H5N1 viruses are susceptible to oseltamivir (Tamiflu), one of the two licensed neuraminidase inhibitors. All strains tested (4 isolates from humans and 33 isolates from birds) demonstrated in vitrosusceptibility to this drug.

Oseltamivir belongs to one of two classes of drugs that can be used to prevent or treat influenza in humans. Studies previously conducted by laboratories in the influenza network have shown that most recent H5N1 strains are resistant to the second class of drugs, the M2 inhibitors (amantadine and rimantadine).

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_02_12a/en/

[baby_bear]

13. This doesn't mean the resistance wasn't induced

...by giving one or both drugs to chickens in China over the last decade, which the article indicates.

I think you may have drawn conclusions about the WP article that may not be warranted.

The feeding of the drug to the animals was clearly out of line.

b_b

[depakid]

14. it's Old News- AND it's a totally misleading headline

Now, if the Post was really interested in bringing this to the public's attention- or MAYBE, just MAYBE making a connection between the rampant overuse of anti-biotics in the America's factory produced beef, pork and poultry (that'll be the day)- why didn't they cover it when the story was actually breaking.

What's this bullshit with a 16 month lag? Kinda hypocritical, don't you think, considering their "rationle" for refusing to cover the downing Street memos.

Nope- the Post is being disengenuous again- which IS NOT to say I condone the Chinese practices. Believe me, there's plenty to ctiticize China about in the public health arena....

[still_one]

17. I agree

lately the administration has been puting out negative stories about China because they won't float the RMB

From everything I have read, the world health organization is working with China both inside and outside the country regarding Avion flu

I would find it amazing if China would try to cover this up after the SARS fiasco, though anything is possible

Frankly, everyone knows that the influenza virus mutants quite easily

[baby_bear]

21. I disagree

But I am willing to be proven wrong.

I think that what the Post is reporting is very important.

b_b

[pandemic_1918]

25. Nothing New in WP Article

Yes, the amantadine and rimantadine resistance has been known since the beginning of 2004, but it is in Vietnam and Thailand and only to a minor extent in China

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/08040402/NYT_enduringH5N1.html

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. What's another possible reason to put out this story?

(Now that I take almost nothing on face value) How about: if we know there is going to be a terrible shortage of effective drugs, why don't we put out the story early that they don't work anyway? Stops the rush and pressure and all the right folks (the "in crowd") can get what's available.

[depakid]

11. Tamilu is still quite effective if

it's administered WITHIN 48 hours of the first symptoms. The UK has made the acquisition and distribution of tamiflu one the their top priorities in their influenza pandemic contingency plan,

http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/PublicationsPAmpGBrowsableDocument/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4106153&MULTIPAGE_ID=5130781&chk=1KMJeE

but the US has no such plan- and in fact Bush's proposed budget actually cuts funding for infrastructure that would be most useful in distributing the drug (even if we had anywhere near a modest supply- which we don't- and won't).

The bottom line is that the Republicans are perfectly happy to let millions of Americans die (and that includes YOU- lurking Freepers) over their disdain for responsible precautionary science.

As to the Post- I suspect they may want people's attention deflected to China over some "old news," rather than look to their own (and America's) failings as to both the probable epidemic and the lies (impeachable offenses) that have helped put the country into massive debt over a an unecessary war.

[still_one]

19. As far as I now Tamiflu would not help you against Avion flu

[depakid]

20. It is in fact the only efficacious treatment

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=15740

However, that doesn't necessarily mean that resistant strains can't or won't develop over time. And as I mentioned- there's a very narrow window period to administer the treatment. After that, you either live or die like anyone else infected.

[still_one]

22. very interesting

thanks for the information

[thecrow]

12. I just read the other day that Chiron isn't going to produce

enough flu vaccine to go around...
And that's just for the regular flu.
This is the second time!
The flu vaccine must be made now and we have not got a backup???

[still_one]

18. What they don't tell you is this

Chiron isn't the only company to make flu vaccine, Aventis, and Glaxo SmithKline also make it

In spite of the nonsense with the vaccine last year, we had more than enough supply, thanks to a mild flu season, and Glaxo SmithKline also adding to the supply. Funny how our wonderful news media never reported that

I am NOT saying everything is O.K., but there is enough time for GSK, and Aventis to take up the slack, provided our incompentent administration is on top of it

[lovuian]

16. We are so screwed!!!

this is Horrible!!!