CDC Issues New Guidelines for Antivirals

(CBS/ AP)  Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control said that most people who come down with the 2009 H1N1 flu virus should just ride it out and not take antiviral medications like Tamiflu and Relenza, reports CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook.

"The majority of adolescents and adults and children can be cared for with mom's chicken soup at home, rest, and lots of fluids," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC.

But certain people need prompt treatment within 48 hours of symptoms -- those hospitalized or at high risk: patients under age 5, over 65, pregnant or with chronic medical problems.

There's a key change for patients at high risk who may have been exposed to the flu virus. Before Tuesday, the CDC advised giving them medication to prevent the illness. But now …

"Instead of just definitely starting antiviral medicines we give providers an option to do what we call watchful waiting and wait and see whether fever develops," Schuchat said.

The new advice tries to close a door that government doctors had left open with earlier guidance in May. Back then, they didn't rule out sometimes using the drugs to stop H1NI's spread and prevent illness even in children who had no symptoms.

H1N1, or swine flu, was first identified in April and is now responsible for almost all flu cases in the United States. It has caused more than 1 million illnesses so far, though most were mild and not reported, the CDC estimates. Nearly 600 lab-confirmed deaths and more than 9,000 hospitalizations have been reported.

Six states have reported widespread flu cases, according to the government's most recent data. Most are in the Southeast, possibly because schools reopen for classes earlier in this region so there is more opportunity for the virus to spread among children. Flu-like illnesses last week led 25 schools in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee to dismiss students, affecting more than 12,000 pupils.

And in the Pacific Northwest, college officials said 2,000 Washington State University students were sickened by swine flu during the first two weeks of classes on the Pullman campus. None were hospitalized and the illnesses seem to be tapering off, officials said this week.

Overall, it's unclear whether swine flu is more dangerous than seasonal flu, which plays a role in an estimated 36,000 deaths each year. The virus has not mutated into a deadlier form since it first appeared, but health officials are concerned about the possibility.

Many parents are worried, too, leading to reported shortages of antiviral medicines in some parts of the country. Another reason for limiting the use of antivirals is to make sure they keep working.

"The more we overuse antivirals, the more chance there is for developing resistant strains of H1N1 that will not respond to those particular medications," said Dr. Irwin Redliner, president and co-founder of the Children's Health Fund.

The bottom line is these medications should be used for people at risk for complications - and not for otherwise healthy adults who are likely to recover on their own.

[DrRuhling]

There's something serious about vaccines that we aren't seeing, as explained by experts on the website videos...

Richard Ruhling, MD, MPH, retired
Board-certified, Internal Medicine
Assist. Prof. Health Science, Loma Linda University
www.LeadingCauseOfDeathPrescriptionDrugs.com

[borg99]

Flu kills tens of thousands of vulnerable people every year -- the young, the old, the already sick. Swine flu is no different. A vaccine will be prepared for it, just as vaccines are prepared for other flus every year.

If swine flu got more notice this year, that's only because it seemed to resemble the deadly 1918 Spanish flu. Swine flu could still mutate into an extremely deadly pandemic. Let's hope not.

Most human beings are decent, and they want to aid their families, friends and neighbors by offering medical treatment. That's why there are flu shots.

So have a beer, or take your medication. Try to control your paranoia. Little green men are not bombarding you with death rays from Mars, and flu shots are not a conspiracy.

[hologram5]

And to think, millions lined up to get their kool-aide shots. They bought into the lies lock, stock and barrel.