U.S. Purchases Bird Flu Treatments
U.S. Health Officials announced Wednesday they have purchased more than 14 million courses of antiviral treatments from Roche and GlaxoSmithKline. The purchase has been made in preparation for a possible avian flu pandemic among humans in the U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services ordered 12.4 million courses of Roche's Tamiflu and 1.75 million courses of Glaxo's Relenza.
There is concern that the H5N1 virus could mutate and move from human to human, which could cause a global pandemic. This concern has triggered an increase in demand for Tamiflu (oseltamivir). Other countries and consumers are also rushing to get their hands on the drugs that could prevent a pandemic.
So far, 92 people have died worldwide, mainly in Asia, from avian flu since it emerged in late 2003, according to the World Health Organization. Germany recently reported a cat death related to avian flu, which warns of the potential danger to house pets and their owners.
