Drug-resistant H1N1 case in Alberta

Edmonton, Sep 16: Alberta has confirmed its first case of drug-resistant Swine Flu case on Tuesday, Sep 14.

The case is that of a woman who tested positive for the H1N1 virus and was administered with a dosage of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir). Even though she was not admitted in a hospital, the woman was being monitored for some other health condition.

After additional testing was done at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, it was confirmed that she had a drug-resistant strain of the H1N1 virus.

"If you have a resistant strain obviously it will affect the efficacy of the treatment and you have to know, if you're going to treat the individual, whether or not they are resistant," said Dr. Gerry Predy, the senior medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services.

"But again, because most people with H1N1 develop mild illness and they won't be treated with antivirals, it's really not significant to the majority of people who get infected with H1N1," he added.

Now, the officials are trying to find out if the patient had the drug-resistant strain when she first became sick, or if it developed while she was being treated for the other condition.

This accounts for the second case of drug-resistant H1N1 case in Canada. Earlier on Aug 15, Hong Kong reported its first case too.

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