This advisory has not come into force yet

The new recommendation from the European Medicines Agency is that the influenza medication Tamiflu made by the drug company Roche should be manufactured to be effective for 7 years and not for the current 5 years especially in view of the outbreak of H1N1 swine influenza in different parts of the world.

This advisory has not come into force yet and must be approved by the EC but is likely to be given the OK. The EMEA also recommended that people who already have Tamiflu should be able to use them for another two years after they had reached the five year expiry date because they would still be effective and it would be counterproductive to throw them away.

They also said that while the influenza drug Tamiflu is not indicated for use with children under the age of one, in a pandemic small doses could be given because the possible benefits would outweigh the risk. However it is worth noting that the EMEA said that their recommendations would only apply if and when a full blown influenza pandemic has been formally declared by the World Health Organisation.

When an influenza pandemic strikes and if bodies start to mount up the rules regarding medications are obviously completely different and doctors will be faced with many decisions which could make a difference between life and death. A doctor is hardly going to tell you not to use Tamiflu because it is expired if he can’t get his hands on anything else.

So at Ukmedix News we would recommend that you hold on to any expired Tamiflu or Relenza for the time being just to be on the safe side in an emergency. Whether expired Tamiflu is as effective as regular Tamiflu or how less effective it is has not been properly established, but there is likely to be some potency still in the medication after the five year expiry period is up.