Roche, the drug company that makes Tamiflu, the anti bird flu drug, is concious of the fact that there could be a big problem with sudden and urgent demand for the drug in different parts of the world should the much feared pandemic break out. Stockpiling the drug Tamiflu has been taking place since the first few cases of the illness were reported in the media and Roche and the WHO have tried to control and distribute the Tamiflu as fairly as possible.

At present most governments have organised stockpiles for their own countries and have guidelines in place for the distribution of the drug in the case of a pandemic, however this could be a logistical nightmare when theory is put into practice. The trucks that take the drugs to remote places would need to me guarded and clear advice and information about the drug must be dispensed with it.

Roche said that the distribution plans were taking far longer to organise and to plan that the simple act of stockpiling the Tamiflu and it is likely that if the pandemic breaks out normal methods of moving drugs around the countries concerned would have to be shelved. It may be that all public transport will shut down and drivers may be reluctant to go to infected areas.

At present the drug has been designed to be given to people after they contract the flu and no actual vaccine has been developed, however some scientists say that taking the drug before being exposed to the bird flu can help and so it maybe possible for say distributors, doctors and nurses to be given the Tamiflu before being put in contact with patients.

However more work and research must be done on this issue to work out the best way forward and the correct doses for health workers. The World Health Organization advises that the Tamiflu drug is best when taken within 2 days of getting the flu as this will improve your chances of surviving it greatly.