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The Guardian and The Times both feature the news that a study published in the Lancet has suggested
that an avian flu pandemic would not be halted by Tamiflu. The report by Dr Tom Jefferson and a team from
Cochrane Vaccines Field in Rome said that while antivirals like Tamiflu or Relenza can reduce symptoms,
not a single treated victim of avian flu has survived. Also, by the time tests to see whether a person is
infected with the virus are complete, both Relenza and Tamiflu are of no use as they must be given within
48 hours of the onset of flu. The review could lead to a change of policy from the World Health Organisation,
which recommends countries to use antiviral drugs in times of ordinary seasonal flu outbreaks so that health
workers can become familiar with their use in case of a pandemic. However, the Department of Health has said
in a statement that it was 'completely misleading' to claim that the drugs were ineffective against avian flu.
Separately, the Financial Times reports that STMicroelectronics and Veredus Laboratories of Singapore are
teaming up to produce a disposable laboratory chip that will be able to diagnose avian flu within an hour.
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