Written by Stuart Stevens | Monday, 23 June 2008 | There are 0 comments
Probably the most effective influenza medication on the market today is Tamiflu 
The Japanese government is seriously considering increasing the amount of anti influenza medications in the nation’s stockpiles to enable 50% of Japanese people to be treated. This comes following a report by a health influenza committee which recommended increased measures to be taken to protect against the deadly H5N1 influenza virus.
The health committee which was chaired by the Liberal Democratic Party Member of Parliament Jiro Kawasaki not only recommends an increase in the overall stockpile but also the inclusion of different influenza treatments and even testing of vaccines on around 6,000 people in the next few months.
At present the Japanese government has stockpiles of medications like Tamiflu and Relenza made by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline Plc respectively which are estimated to be able to treat just under ¼ of the total population of just under 130 million people.
Under World Health Organisation guidelines individual nations are being advised that they must have enough Tamiflu or other influenza medications to be able to treat 25 percent of their populations. This does not present much of a problem for richer nations but poorer nations have struggled to meet this quota and will therefore be reliant on World Health Organisation stockpiles which are located in different parts of the world for rapid deployment.
Japan is one of the few first world countries in the Far East and all around it there are countries which have suffered from human deaths from the H5N1 avian flu virus. Almost 250 people have died from the bird flu virus and almost all of them were in the Far East.
Probably the most effective influenza medication on the market today is Tamiflu which is extremely popular in Japan and is used to treat regular flu viruses routinely. Some experts have said this is not advisable because it will enable the flu viruses to become resistant to the Tamiflu drug and they say that it should only be used in extreme and serious cases.
