Print

Mail

wiki links

DOH adds warning label to Tamiflu

The Department of Health (DOH) has decided to require importers of anti-flu drug Tamiflu to add labels warning teenagers of possible risks, following the country's first recorded case of behavioral disorder linked to the drug.

The announcement came after a 17-year-old high school student reported hallucinations, drowsiness and other abnormal behavior after being given Tamiflu.

Health officials said the student listened to his MP3 player during class, left his seat in the middle of an examination and was unable to answer even simple questions from his teacher.

The behavior disappeared after the student stopped taking the drug, officials said.

Health authorities in Taipei have told local representatives of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holdings, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, to complete the necessary procedures regarding this matter by the end of the month.

The department's announcement made Taiwan the third country to add a warning message to Tamiflu, following Japan and South Korea.

Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs Director-General Liao Chi-chou (廖繼洲), who was quoted in a Central News Agency report last Saturday as saying that the youth returned to normal after he stopped taking Tamiflu, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Center for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Lin Ting (林頂) yesterday described the case as "a bit unusual."

He said the center has strictly regulated the use of Tamiflu and doctors here have used very little of it.

The center, however, has stockpiled enough Tamiflu for 230,000 people in case of an outbreak of avian flu, as well as other medications and vaccines.

"We are unlikely to adjust the proportion of different anti-avian flu drugs in storage simply because of an isolated case, since we have limited options here," Lin said.

Japanese authorities have linked the drug to behavioral disorders and a spate of deaths among teenagers in Japan.

Roche, however, has rejected the allegations, saying Tamiflu has no dangerous side effects.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has ordered that Tamiflu not be prescribed for young people aged between 10 and 20 years old.

South Korean health authorities have also suspended the prescription of Tamiflu to young people following reports of sideeffects in Japanese users.
This story has been viewed 2492 times.