Tamiflu

Bird flu drug now legal in SA

Tamiflu, the anti-viral drug used to combat the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which has already reached Africa and is predicted to reach South Africa in six months to a year, has officially been registered for use in the country.

Create a culture of vaccination

One precaution South Africans can take in the advent of an expected influenza strain evolving from Southeast Asia's avian flu is to have routine vaccinations. Professor Barry Schoub, the executive director of the National Institute for Communicative Diseases, and Dr Andrew Jamieson of the SAA-Netcare Travel Clinic, said today that developing a culture of being vaccinated would help progress the logistical framework within which influenza vaccines would be provided to South Africa in the event of a pandemic.