Canadian ministry warn of online Tamiflu fraud
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-24 08:35

Canadians are being warned by Health Ministry to be careful buying Tamiflu online and to avoid anything called "generic Tamiflu" because generic versions of the anti-viral drug do not exist.

Health Canada put out the warning Friday after reports from theUnited Kingdom that many websites -- including two Canadian ones --have been selling illegal Tamiflu to people in the United Kingdom.

Health Canada said other reports also indicate the US Customs Border Patrol stopped more than 50 shipments of counterfeit Tamiflu at their border.

Jirina Vlk, media spokesperson for Health Canada, said there isno indication of counterfeit Tamiflu in Canada at present, but he warned that "it could be here."

The ministry advises Canadians to buy Tamiflu with a prescription from a doctor they know, at a pharmacy where they have a previous relationship.

People concerned about any Tamiflu they have bought should bring the drug to a pharmacy, their doctor or the drug manufacturer, Swiss firm Roche AG.

This latest concern about Tamiflu follows reports that the drug may not be a fail-safe defense against the avian flu, according to a New England Journal of Medicine report.

The authors of the report say they have found evidence the H5N1virus can mutate into a form unaffected by Tamiflu, thus rendering the world's ever-growing stockpiles of the drug ineffective if the mutated strain were to spread.