Doubling Up Doses of Oseltamivir Hoping To Reduce Fatalities
Oseltamivir has been used successfully to treat patients who have contracted the bird flu virus, or H5N1. The regular dose available by prescription is 75 mg taken orally, two times each day for a period of five days. However, even with this treatment, the death rate is still quite high at nearly 60 percent. Higher doses of Oseltamivir have been administered in trial tests on animals, and the cure rate has increased.
Doctors are now testing a double dose of Oseltamivir to reduce the high fatality rate associated with the bird flu virus. The countries participating in this trial include the United States, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The participants from each country in this study include those suffering from bird flu and 100 people infected with a severe case of human flu. Participants with severe human flu suffer from comparable symptoms as those who have contracted the bird flu.
To conduct the study, fifty percent of the participants will receive the regular Oseltamivir treatment, and the remaining fifty percent will receive a double dose of the medication (150 mg) administered two times each day for a period of ten days. The study will determine the safety of a double dose and the overall condition of the participant, including the amount of virus present in the throat and lungs during the clinical trial period.
In Japan, fears have been raised about the psychotic effects of Oseltamivir on humans, particularly in young people. Japan is a large user of Oseltamivir to treat human flu cases, and psychological problems are one of the known side effects. This fear was heightened recently when two young people committed suicide by falling from a building while taking this drug.
Currently, Oseltamivir is the most effective treatment for H5N1 virus if administered at the earliest time when symptoms develop. Vaccines against this deadly virus are not obtainable commercially at the present time. As a result, many countries are stockpiling supplies of Oseltamivir in case a global pandemic occurs. Although H5N1 primarily affects birds at present, a pandemic can be caused if the virus is able to transfer successfully to humans and would result in millions of deaths throughout the world.