Japan to Allow Tamiflu Use for Teens in Case of Bird Flu Outbreak

Tokyo, March 26 (Jiji Press)–The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on Monday decided to allow the use of influenza drug Tamiflu for patients aged 10-19 in the event of an outbreak of a new type of deadly influenza under a newly formulated policy concerning response to a new flu pandemic.

Only last week, the ministry decided to ban the use of Tamiflu for patients in that age group who were infected with ordinary influenza, prompted by a series of cases of abnormal behavior by children who took the drug.

But the ministry has decided to allow the use of Tamiflu for that age group if the patients are infected with bird flu because of the deadliness of the new disease.

Japan aims to accumulate a stockpile of Tamiflu for 25 million people to prepare for a possible outbreak of bird flu.

Ordinary influenza and bird flu must be handled differently, ministry officials pointed out.END

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