WHO sends Tamiflu stocks to 72 nations

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday it would begin sending 2.4 million treatment courses of Tamiflu, an antiviral proven effective against the new flu, to 72 countries deemed in need, including Mexico.

The Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG donated the stockpiles to the United Nations agency several years ago for use in a possible influenza pandemic.

"The WHO is dispatching 2.4 million courses of antivirals to 72 countries most in need, including Mexico," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a news briefing in Geneva.