Posted on 11/21/2009 4:29:46 AM PST by markomalley
Five patients on a unit for people with severe underlying health conditions at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, were diagnosed with swine flu that is resistant to the drug.
Three appear to have acquired the infection in hospital, the National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS) said.
Two of the five have recovered and have been discharged from hospital, one is in critical care and two are being treated on the ward.
The service said the resistant strain does not appear to be more severe than the swine flu virus circulating since the spring.
All patients on the unit have been tested and patients diagnosed with Tamiflu-resistant swine flu have been given other antivirals.
Patients have been isolated or are being cared for in a designated area for influenza cases.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has put appropriate infection control measures in place on the unit, the NPHS added.
Staff and patients have been offered swine flu vaccinations, and patients due to come into the unit for treatment are being warned to get the jab from their GP.
Close contacts of the patients are being warned to make sure they are treated quickly if they show any symptoms.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Advice: if you are prescribed a course of antivirals or antibiotics, take the whole course...
...taking a partial course of meds is the primary cause of bugs developing resistance.
There is also a cluster of resistant cases at Duke in NC, reported about the same time.
The UK still has wards of 40 sometimes more patients to a room next to each other. If one is sick with an airborne virus, they could spread it quite quickly.
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