Indonesian doctors were monitoring a pregnant woman
who started taking the antiviral drug Tamiflu
after developing symptoms of bird
flu, but said Monday they were confident it would not affect
her 2-month-old fetus.
The case, however, will be closely watched by scientists
who have inadequate data on the use of the medication in pregnant
women.
The World Health Organization and the Swiss-based
manufacturer of Tamiflu say for the time being, decisions to prescribe
the drug should be made only when the potential benefit to the mother
justifies the possible risk to the unborn child.
Dr. Luhur Soeroso, who is treating the 35-year-old
woman from Sumatra province, said she has been taking the drug for
over one week and "so far has not had any problems with her
pregnancy."
He said he believed strong antibiotics also being
administered to the patient, who continues to suffer from high fever
and respiratory problems, were more dangerous to the fetus' development
than Tamiflu.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed 141 people across
the globe since ravaging Asian poultry stocks three years ago, including
46 in Indonesia, making it the country worst affected by the disease,
according to WHO.
Most people have been infected after coming into
contact with sick birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate
into a form that spreads easily among humans, possibly sparking
a pandemic.
David Reddy, the leader of Roche's pandemic task
force, said while data on the use of Tamiflu by pregnant women were
not available, studies carried out on animals "do not indicate
any direct or indirect harmful effects with respect to the pregnancy
or fetal development."
The company was aware of several women who took
the drug and gave birth to children who showed "no disturbing
signals," he said, stressing, however, that it was anecdotal
evidence, not controlled data.
Soeroso, the Indonesian doctor, said the potential
benefits from Tamiflu outweighed the risks for the woman from Sumatra
province, which has been hard hit by the disease in recent weeks.
"The most crucial thing right now is to save
the mother's life," he said, adding that health experts were
awaiting laboratory test results to confirm whether she has the
virus.
