Adverse Reactions To Tamiflu And Relenza Can Be Reported Online

has been named The Swine Flu Adverse Drug Reaction Portal

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has set up an online system to report any adverse events and reactions when using influenza medication and it has been initiated in response to the increasing use of antiviral medication due to the swine influenza pandemic.

The system which has been named The Swine Flu Adverse Drug Reaction Portal can be found at http://swineflu.mhra.gov.uk/ and is designed to enable General Practitioners to report any adverse reactions to the influenza medications Tamiflu and Relenza as well as any future influenza vaccines which may become available soon. The web site will not only be available to doctors but also members of the public in the same way as the existing Yellow Card Scheme.

Dr June Raine who is the the MHRA Director of Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines explained that the web site had been specifically designed to enable adverse reaction to be reported easily and quickly and urged doctors to remember that every single adverse event report was significant.

It is important that the health care establishment is made aware of any changes in effect that the Tamiflu and Relenza drugs are having as the swine influenza pandemic progresses especially in view of the fact that influenza viruses mutate and change over time. There have been some reports of the H1N1 virus becoming resistant to Tamiflu for example and these reports need to be monitored carefully to plan future pandemic strategies.

The World Health Organisation, the Centers for Disease Control and the European Medicines Agency all agree that the most effective medications to treat the swine influenza virus at present are Tamiflu and Relenza made by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline respectively.

If you have any adverse reactions to the use of influenza antiviral medication you should report it immediately to your doctor.