Swine Flu: Good Drugs Scarce Scam Drugs Everywhere?

The snake oil salesmen just love a good health scare. While there are concerns about shortages of the swine flu vaccine and issues around the availability of genuine medication for Swine flu there seems to be no shortage of scam treatments appearing on the internet.

Increasing numbers of children are now catching swine flu but there are indications in the US at least that some parents are having to go on a hunting trip to find the liquid Tamiflu that they need for their children.

There have been reports that in some areas parents have had to drive from pharmacy to pharmacy to get the Liquid Tamiflu that their pediatrician has prescribed for their child. For the youngest victims of the Swine Flu Tamiflu Syrup may often be a treatment of choice for H1N1 but there are indications that there are problems with availability in some areas.

Tamiflu does not cure the Swine flu but it can reduce the severity of symptoms and reduce the risk of potentially life-threatening complications. With a second wave of swine flu now sweeping the US this has led to a rapid surge in demand which appears to be causing local shortages. The Swiss manufacturer Roche had also decided to focus production on the capsule form.

The Government fortunately has a Strategic National Stockpile and is reported to be moving out hundreds of thousands of five-day courses to supply the states. Officials have also given advice that pharmacists could mix the powder from capsules with syrup to make a make do liquid form for children if the actual syrup version is not available. The FDA has made available the formula for pharmacists to follow and given guidelines for the correct dosing by each child's weight.

"For the most part, patients are getting treated," says Greg Burel, director of the CDC's Division of Strategic National Stockpile. "There have been shortages in sporadic spots, but generally it's still available."

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had released 300,000 courses of the liquid formula from the National Strategic Stockpile earlier this month some of which had required to be tested for potency by the FDA because of passed expiry dates.

While there are anxieties and energies directed at a real drug such as Tamiflu with real effects, the snake oil folk have of course been busy. Among the stuff being peddled, often on the internet, is a shampoo that prevents any airborne virus that settles on the scalp from causing swine flu ( !). If you are worried about infection through hand contact then you can buy special disposable gloves that offer protection from ATMs, and door handles and even a "natural immunization" which is "safer" than a flu shot.
The FDA has been compiling a list of apparently fraudulent products that is now running to over 140 drugs, devices and equipment. Much of it is marketed over the Internet. In May the FDA together with the Federal Trade Commission, decided to crackdown on unapproved and unproven products.

According to Gary Coody, the FDA's national health fraud coordinator, the manufacturers of such products "are motivated by profit, not concern for public health." Manufacturers are being told to remove unproven claims or unapproved products and respond to warning letters within 48 hours.