Researchers map the global spread of drug-resistant influenza
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - 18:20
in Health & Medicine
In the new movie "Contagion," fictional health experts scramble to get ahead of a flu-like pandemic as a drug-resistant virus quickly spreads, killing millions of people within days after they contract the illness. Although the film isn't based entirely on reality, it's not exactly science fiction, either. In a new study, researchers explain how seasonal H1N1 influenza became resistant to oseltamivir, otherwise known as Tamiflu, the most widely used antiviral agent for treating and preventing flu. The scientists say that a combination of genetic mutations and human migration through air travel can lead to the rapid global spread of drug-resistant strains.