| ■ Japanese Confirm Abnormal Behavior in People Taking Tamiflu | 07.04.11 |
| Abnormal behavior occurred in 128 Japanese people who took the flu drug Tamiflu, says a report submitted Wednesday to a national health ministry panel investigating the matter. The report's authors checked 1,079 potential cases reported since 2001 and confirmed that 128 people, mostly young children and teenagers, behaved abnormally after taking Tamiflu, Agence France Presse reported. Of those 128 people, five teens and three adults died after falling from buildings or exhibiting extreme behavior such as dashing in front of cars. Japan, the largest importer of Tamiflu, buys 60 percent of the world's supply of the drug, which is made by Switzerland-based Roche. After a previous probe, Japanese officials said taking Tamiflu posed no danger. U.S. officials came to the same conclusion. But the Japanese government decided to launch a new investigation after a recent wave of deaths among people taking Tamiflu that led officials to issue an emergency order suspending prescriptions of the drug to young people, AFP reported. Roche denies that Tamiflu causes any dangerous side effects. |