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More than half of children prescribed oseltamivir in three London schools with outbreaks of the novel virus influenza A(H1N1) experienced side effects, according to a survey.
Researchers from the British Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said 45 of 85 (53%) respondents prescribed prophylactic oseltamivir (Tamiflu) reported side effects from the antiviral medication (Euro. Surveill. 2009;14:19287). The most common side effect was nausea, reported in 29% of cases (25 of 85), according to the researchers.
Frequent side effects reduce compliance and raise the risk of promoting antiviral resistance if lower drug concentrations only partly block virus replication, suggesting that governments in a disease containment mode not rely too much on antiviral drugs.
“The study findings formed part of the body of growing evidence that contributed to policy change in the U.K.,” wrote the researchers, led by Aileen Kitching of the HPA London epidemiology unit and ECDC's European Program for Intervention Epidemiology Training. “Current U.K. advice is to limit antiviral prophylaxis in schools to the small number of contacts considered most at risk.”
With a stockpile of 30 million doses of antiviral medication, the United Kingdom continued its containment strategy until July 2, 3 weeks after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. Until July 2, British physicians were offering oseltamivir to both patients and all exposed contacts.
Researchers asked the children at one primary school and two secondary schools, or their parents, to fill out an online survey form on side effects from oseltamivir. They sought responses from 256 children, of whom 103 responded. Of the respondents, 95 were estimated to have been offered oseltamivir, and 85 took any of the medication.
Of those 85, 56 respondents (66%) said they did or would complete the full course. A gastrointestinal side effect was reported by 40% of those on the medication. Nearly 18% reported at least one mild neuropsychiatric side effect (poor concentration/unable to think clearly, problems sleeping, feeling dazed/confused, bad dreams/nightmares, strange behavior). Neuropsychiatric side effects were more commonly reported by secondary (20%) than primary (13%) schoolchildren, the report noted.
The researchers said their findings are limited by a low response rate, which occurred because they asked for a response by the end of the day via a Web link that was sent to the families.
More than half of children prescribed oseltamivir in three London schools with outbreaks of the novel virus influenza A(H1N1) experienced side effects, according to a survey.
Researchers from the British Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said 45 of 85 (53%) respondents prescribed prophylactic oseltamivir (Tamiflu) reported side effects from the antiviral medication (Euro. Surveill. 2009;14:19287). The most common side effect was nausea, reported in 29% of cases (25 of 85), according to the researchers.
Frequent side effects reduce compliance and raise the risk of promoting antiviral resistance if lower drug concentrations only partly block virus replication, suggesting that governments in a disease containment mode not rely too much on antiviral drugs.
“The study findings formed part of the body of growing evidence that contributed to policy change in the U.K.,” wrote the researchers, led by Aileen Kitching of the HPA London epidemiology unit and ECDC's European Program for Intervention Epidemiology Training. “Current U.K. advice is to limit antiviral prophylaxis in schools to the small number of contacts considered most at risk.”
With a stockpile of 30 million doses of antiviral medication, the United Kingdom continued its containment strategy until July 2, 3 weeks after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. Until July 2, British physicians were offering oseltamivir to both patients and all exposed contacts.
Researchers asked the children at one primary school and two secondary schools, or their parents, to fill out an online survey form on side effects from oseltamivir. They sought responses from 256 children, of whom 103 responded. Of the respondents, 95 were estimated to have been offered oseltamivir, and 85 took any of the medication.
Of those 85, 56 respondents (66%) said they did or would complete the full course. A gastrointestinal side effect was reported by 40% of those on the medication. Nearly 18% reported at least one mild neuropsychiatric side effect (poor concentration/unable to think clearly, problems sleeping, feeling dazed/confused, bad dreams/nightmares, strange behavior). Neuropsychiatric side effects were more commonly reported by secondary (20%) than primary (13%) schoolchildren, the report noted.
The researchers said their findings are limited by a low response rate, which occurred because they asked for a response by the end of the day via a Web link that was sent to the families.
More than half of children prescribed oseltamivir in three London schools with outbreaks of the novel virus influenza A(H1N1) experienced side effects, according to a survey.
Researchers from the British Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said 45 of 85 (53%) respondents prescribed prophylactic oseltamivir (Tamiflu) reported side effects from the antiviral medication (Euro. Surveill. 2009;14:19287). The most common side effect was nausea, reported in 29% of cases (25 of 85), according to the researchers.
Frequent side effects reduce compliance and raise the risk of promoting antiviral resistance if lower drug concentrations only partly block virus replication, suggesting that governments in a disease containment mode not rely too much on antiviral drugs.
“The study findings formed part of the body of growing evidence that contributed to policy change in the U.K.,” wrote the researchers, led by Aileen Kitching of the HPA London epidemiology unit and ECDC's European Program for Intervention Epidemiology Training. “Current U.K. advice is to limit antiviral prophylaxis in schools to the small number of contacts considered most at risk.”
With a stockpile of 30 million doses of antiviral medication, the United Kingdom continued its containment strategy until July 2, 3 weeks after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. Until July 2, British physicians were offering oseltamivir to both patients and all exposed contacts.
Researchers asked the children at one primary school and two secondary schools, or their parents, to fill out an online survey form on side effects from oseltamivir. They sought responses from 256 children, of whom 103 responded. Of the respondents, 95 were estimated to have been offered oseltamivir, and 85 took any of the medication.
Of those 85, 56 respondents (66%) said they did or would complete the full course. A gastrointestinal side effect was reported by 40% of those on the medication. Nearly 18% reported at least one mild neuropsychiatric side effect (poor concentration/unable to think clearly, problems sleeping, feeling dazed/confused, bad dreams/nightmares, strange behavior). Neuropsychiatric side effects were more commonly reported by secondary (20%) than primary (13%) schoolchildren, the report noted.
The researchers said their findings are limited by a low response rate, which occurred because they asked for a response by the end of the day via a Web link that was sent to the families.