Tamiflu retail sale banned as no human cases reported: Govt

New Delhi, May 19 (UNI) Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare A Ramadoss today said the retail sale of anti-bird flu drug tamiflu has been banned so that people do not use it indiscriminately thus acquiring immunity against it.

''There has been no human cases of bird flu, so we do not want panic buying of the drug,'' Mr Ramadoss told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.

The decision, taken in consultation with the Consumer Affairs Ministry and the Law Ministry, was aimed at preventing the people from acquiring immunity against tamiflu as once a resistance to the drug was developed there was no other treatment for the disease.

The Government wanted to avoid the situation in which resistance to the firstline anti-AIDS drug(priced at Rs 500 a month) led them to take the secondline drug costing Rs 10,000 a month It is because of these reasons that a committee of expert under the Directorate General of Health Services had suggested only public distribution of the drug.

Besides, the drug was known to have many side effects. It could cause toxicity such as nausea, vomiting and psychiatric symptoms because of which it was to be administered under strict medical supervision, the Minister added.

Because of the panic created by the first outbreak at Navapur, there would have been large scale stockpiling of the drug and its indiscriminate use of retail marketing was allowed, he said.

The Minister said the government had been very alert and efficient in tackling the bird flu situation, keeping ten lakh people under surveillance.

UNI NAZ RL HT1548