From The Times, July 31, 2009

Tamiflu Causes Sickness and

Nightmares in Children, Study
Finds
David Rose

• 26 Comments

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Children report a range of side-effects, but the official advice is that Tamiflu is safe

More than half of children taking the swine flu drug Tamiflu experience side-effects such as
nausea and nightmares, research suggests.

An estimated 150,000 people with flu symptoms were prescribed the drug through a new
hotline and website last week, according to figures revealed yesterday.

Studies of children attending three schools in London and one in the South West showed that
51-53 per cent had one or more side-effects from the medication, which is offered to
everyone in England with swine flu symptoms.

The research by the Health Protection Agency emerged as Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief
Medical Officer for England, said that swine flu infections “may have reached a plateau”.

Related Links

• Tamiflu: a beginner's guide

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Multimedia
 • COVERAGE IN FULL: the swine flu pandemic

Releasing the latest figures, Sir Liam said that an estimated 110,000 new cases of the H1N1
virus were diagnosed by doctors in the week to Sunday. That did not include those using the
new National Pandemic Flu Service for England to obtain antiviral drugs without seeing their
GP.

Sir Liam said that the deaths of 27 people in England were confirmed to have been linked to
swine flu, compared with 26 last week. As of Wednesday morning 793 people were in
hospital in England with the virus, and 81 were in intensive care.

Yesterday Natasha Newman, 16, of Highgate, North London, was seriously ill in hospital in
Athens after contracting swine flu while on holiday on the island of Cephalonia. Her parents,
Julian Newman and Nikki Boughton, were at her bedside at the Agia Sofia children’s
hospital, said a spokeswoman for Mr Newman’s business, J. Newman Textiles. “This is a
very distressing and worrying time,” she said.

Peter Holden, the British Medical Association’s lead expert on swine flu, suggested that
Tamiflu was being overused and did not need to be offered to everyone with mild symptoms.
“The National Pandemic Flu Service has been a great success, and was needed to take the
pressure off GPs,” he said. “But the threshold for getting Tamiflu should be quite high.

“For patients who are not in the high-risk groups — such as pregnant women, people with
bad asthma or with suppressed immune systems — this virus typically causes mild symptoms
and does not require a course of Tamiflu. Patients in the at-risk groups should be referred to
their GP, who will use their clinical judgment.”

A total of 103 children took part in the London study, of which 85 were given the drug as a
precaution after a classmate received a diagnosis of swine flu. Of those, 45 experienced one
or more side-effects. The most common was nausea (29 per cent), followed by stomach pain
or cramps (20 per cent) and problems sleeping (12 per cent). Almost one in five had a
“neuropsychiatric side-effect”, such as inability to think clearly, nightmares and “behaving
strangely”, according to the research, published in Eurosurveillance, a journal of disease.

The study was carried out in April and May when the drug was being issued as a preventive
measure. The findings were echoed by a study of children at a school in the South West
where a pupil had caught the disease in Mexico.

Health officials in Japan have recommended against prescribing Tamiflu to teenagers over
fears it causes a rise in “neuropsychiatric events”. The researchers said that clinical trials had
shown that about 20 per cent of adults reported side-effects of either nausea or vomiting after
taking Tamiflu.

Both the Department of Health and the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory products
Agency said that the drug was safe, and that the benefits of treating early symptoms and
avoiding potentially serious complications could outweigh the risks of side-effects.

Sir Liam said that despite a 10 per cent rise in the estimated number of cases in the week to
Sunday, the latest figures reinforced “a growing impression we have had a peak”. He said that
a surge would still be expected in the winter flu season, but added: “I think we are a little
more confident we may be seeing a downturn in this flu.”

Scale of the outbreak

— 110,000 new swine flu cases in England last week, based on data from GPs

— 150,000 people obtaining Tamiflu without seeing a GP since last Thursday

— 51% to 53% proportion of children reporting side-effects from taking Tamiflu

— 1 in 158 people in England have contacted their GP with flu-like symptoms since
outbreaks began. The rate is 1 in 77 for children aged 1 to 4

Source: Department of Health

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m ford wrote:
the very thin end of a massive wedge. I hear that Greece has just approved plans to
vaccinate their whole population,with no exceptions. google 'Jane Burgermeister'
and read what's going on, then head for the hills.
July 31, 2009 6:22 PM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Rick Pritchard wrote:

When are people gonna wake up and listen. I suppose when the mainstream media
actually tells abit of truth, like in this acticle. But it shouldn't need that. If it needs
that to wake you up then you need to sort your head out. I was banging on about
Tamiflu weeks ago. Loads of us were. Its used mostly in Japan where 12
children died as a result. People stop worrying about abit of flu and if you still
think you want to take the vaccine then think again please, before it's too late for
you and your family. Watch the 60 minutes program on the 1976 swine flu
outbreak. You'll be glad you did.
July 31, 2009 5:58 PM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Jake Blair wrote:

Everyone should know Tamiflu HASN't been subject to full EU or FDA clinical
trials. (Very worrying). Look up the 1976 Swine Flu. Vaccines are the snakeoil of
medicine. Its all propoganda anyway. Got enough on my mind with money/jobsn
/politics.
July 31, 2009 5:50 PM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Helen Williamson wrote:

Martien - try telling that to the 1000s of Worried Well walking the streets of
Britain, terrified they're going to catch a sniffle! The sooner people realise the
effects of Swine flu are the same as normal flu for the majority of people, the
better. Seems Tamiflu can be more hassle than it's worth...
July 31, 2009 11:58 AM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Ian Tinn wrote:

Just a thought - are children receiving the adult dose of Tamiflu? Could that be the
problem?
July 31, 2009 11:00 AM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Alan Noorkoiv wrote:

I suspect the nightmares are psychological due to Government and Parental
Paranoia, and the Nausea is to be expected when you chose to fill your body with a
cocktail of chemicals; perhaps even unessesarily?...
July 31, 2009 10:58 AM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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marcus toomster wrote:

What next? Tamiflu can cause headaches and tiredness? I cant wait for the next
instalment of this riveting story.
July 31, 2009 10:46 AM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Ian Tinn wrote:

Martien, your doctors are right. I have been saying the same since the UK panic
started.
Even worse, viruses can pass immunity from one to another. Tamiflu could become
completely useless in around a year's time.
July 31, 2009 10:27 AM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Ron Graves wrote:

Far worse than nightmares, according to the NICE guide TA158, Tamiflu can cause
bronchitis. In conjunction with flu, the guide says, bronchitis can be fatal. This
does not strike me as wildly helpful.

AS I have severe COPD, my risk of dying if I catch the flu is pretty high, and it
seems that taking Tamiflu may be just the thing to tip me over the edge.

I think I'll pass, and do what I normally do when I have flu - load my system with
antibiotics to stave off secondary bacterial infections.

My priority, though, is to take all possible steps to avoid flu.

By the way, there is another NICE report, pre-dating TA158, saying that in an
epidemic, Tamiflu needs to be taken for six weeks. The 7-10 day courses being
doled out during the pandemic, then, look rather inadequate.
July 31, 2009 10:09 AM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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Martien Roose wrote:

150,000 people obtaining Tamiflu without seeing a GP since last Thursday ?
I'm living in Belgium; scientists and doctors here are warning us that the more
Tamiflu is taken the quicker the virus will become resistent.
July 31, 2009 9:51 AM BST on UK-TimesOnline
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