Health officials have decided, even with a lack of data and studies done on the matter, that Tamiflu can be used on children under 1 because swine flu poses such a great risk to that age category. Previously the drug had only been approved for use with children over the age of one, now it is officially approved for the treatment of swine flu in patients of all ages. Physicians are allowed to prescribe Tamiflu to infants under the age of one.
The following quote from the article sums up their stand on the issue and how the decision was made:
“There were no antivirals authorized in Canada for treatment for children under the age of one,” said chief public health officer Dr. David Butler-Jones during a call with reporters on Thursday. Young children are known to be more susceptible to influenza viruses in general and Butler-Jones said that is proving true with this new strain.
“We know that this group is increasingly vulnerable to complications of H1N1,” he said.
That quote doesn’t exactly instill confidence in their decision, it sounds more like, “well, we don’t have anything for under the age of one, so how about we approve a drug that hasn’t killed children over one, and see how it goes against that dang swine flu”. I know I sound cavalier, but what if it completely is too much for their little systems? Its unnerving for me to read that its approved with pretty much no data supporting their decision. I understand the need to have something, anything, to treat this age category, and personally hope for nothing but the best when it comes to treating babies.
That age category is also the most highly affected, out of the more 6,672 documented cases of Canadians with swine flu, 207 were under the age of 1, and 83 were hospitalized, with 10 in an internsive care unit and one death. But I wonder how this compares to the seasonal flu?