IF YOU think your kid has swine flu, should you dose them up with antiviral drugs? Parents in the UK may be justifiably confused. While the government sticks to its 鈥渟afety first鈥� strategy of making antivirals available to all, a study published this week concludes that treating children under 12 with oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) has little effect (BMJ, ).
The drugs shorten the duration of disease by only a day or so, and decrease by only 8 per cent the chance that an infected child will spread the virus to others. 鈥淭he effect is fairly small for most children,鈥� says of the University of Oxford, who led the study.
Meanwhile Tamiflu can cause vomiting and other side effects, and widespread use increases the risk of the virus developing resistance, says Thompson. He advises parents to treat mild flu symptoms not with antivirals but with medicines to control fever, plus plenty of rest and fluids.
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