A Third Resistant Case

Hongkong on Friday detected a strain of H1N1 that was resistant to Tamiflu, the health department reported on its website, during routine tests of its sensitivity to anti-virals.

The case came as the Japanese health ministry said doctors had detected the second case world wide of patient resistant to Tamiflu.

In the Hong Kong case, the resistant  virus was isolated from a specimen taken from a 16 year old girl who arrived in the southern Chinese city from San Fransisco last month. But the strain is not resistant to the other anti-viral drug, Relenza, the health department said.

A spokeswomen  for Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche, which makes Tamiflu, said the company  had been informed of the case and called it ‘normal’. She said “0,4 per cent of adults develop resistance” to Tamiflu.

The US Centers for disease control and preventions said last week at least 1 million people in Amerika have had flu, taking into account many cases gone unreported to the authorities. There have been about 287.000 confirmed cases and 127 deaths.

World Health Organizations Director General Dr. Margareth Chan and the world health’s ministers met on Thursday in Mexico for a two day summit to devise strategies amid fresh . The flu is running  wild in the southern hemisphere and is spreading rapidly through Europe.  Argentina  has seen a sharp rise in facilities, with  the number  of dead rising  from 26 to 43 within  five days. Argentina has  surpassed Cansada  as the country with  the most H1N1 – linked deaths after the US and Mexico.