‘Tamiflu can have bad side-effects on children’

Consumers in India will soon be able to buy anti-flu drug oseltamivir (marketed as Tamiflu by Swiss company Roche) from retail stores, with the government planning to lift the ban on retail sales. However, researchers at Oxford University have questioned the safety of the drug for children. They found in a study that it caused vomiting, dehydration and other complications in about 5% of cases among children aged between one and 12 years.

While the drug provided a small benefit by shortening the duration of illness in children with seasonal influenza and reducing household transmission, it was found to have little effect on asthma flare-ups, says the study published in British Medical Journal.

Researchers have clearly said that the harmful effects of Tamiflu and Relenza ��� another commonly used anti-viral drug ��� far outweigh their benefits and the results found for seasonal flu would apply for H1N1 too. The way out, they say, is to limit Tamiflu use, especially in children, to serious cases.

Indian doctors say this is the latest in a long series of questions raised about the H1N1 ������wonder drug������. Earlier, another study had reported that Tamiflu caused nausea and nightmares in children.

Said AIIMS professor of medicine Dr Randeep Guleria: ������There have been other reports. In Japan, it was found to cause neuro-psychiatric manifestations like suicidal tendencies in patients. The drug���s literature, I believe, mentions this. That���s why we have been constantly warning against indiscriminate use.���