Tamiflu reduced swine flu deaths, study finds
Deaths of hospitalised adults were reduced by a quarter when treated with Tamiflu during the swine flu pandemic.
An international study has found that patients hospitalised with swine flu during the 2009-10 pandemic were more likely to survive if they were treated with Tamiflu.
Led by the University of Nottingham, the research suggests the likelihood of death was reduced by a quarter in adult patients treated with Tamiflu or another similar anti-viral drug.
Tamiflu was by far the most commonly used drug during the pandemic, but other anti-flu drugs known as neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) were also used.
The study used worldwide data from more than 29,000 patients hospitalised with the H1N1 virus during the pandemic. The research team assessed the effect NAI treatment had on the risk of death due to the virus.
Researchers say when patients received NAI treatment within 48 hours of the onset of flu symptoms, compared to those who were not given NAIs, the risk of death was approximately halved.
These findings are the first to come out of the post-pandemic review of anti-influenza drug effectiveness (PRIDE). They have been published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.
Leading the research, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam from the University of Nottingham explained that previously there has been lots of controversy about whether NAIs actually reduce complications and deaths due to influenza.
"What we have now done," he says, "is taken worldwide data from the 2009 pandemic itself…
"From our results, it seems that in 2009, among patients hospitalised with the pandemic virus, the chances of dying could be reduced by roughly one half if an NAI was given with 48 hours of illness onset compared with no treatment.
"In my view, these data suggest that NAIs are a likely to be important in the fight against both seasonal and pandemic influenza."
Authors of the research are now calling for NAI treatment to be used as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms in adults with either confirmed or suspected influenza.
According to researchers, however, the success of Tamiflu in treating adult patients does not seem to have applied to children. Indeed, scientists say they found no significant reduction in deaths in children treated with NAIs.
Led by Nottingham researchers, the PRIDE Consortium is now working to find out whether Tamiflu prevented pneumonia and admissions to hospital and intensive care during the pandemic. The results are expected to be published in mid-2015.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
