Health officials keeping eye on drug-resistant flu strain

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Drug-resistant virus could limit treatment options, doctors say

Ten Chicago-area patients have tested positive for an unusual type of drug-resistant influenza, prompting concern and increased surveillance by local and federal health officials.

The strain of flu can be treated successfully with some drugs, but it does not respond to Tamiflu, the most common anti-viral medication for flu. The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a health alert to doctors and hospitals Thursday, suggesting that flu patients who are in intensive care receive a combination of drugs until their virus can be analyzed.

Officials said eight of the Tamiflu-resistant infections came from an outbreak at a single Chicago health-care facility, the name of which has not been released.

Nationwide, 4.6 percent of flu samples tested have shown signs of drug resistance this season, said officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In previous years, resistance to the drug hovered below 1 percent of all cases.

"We have seen this before, though not at this level," said Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of epidemiology and prevention in the CDC's influenza division.

Chicago Tribune