'Tamiflu harmful for children'
Updated on 10 August 2009
Children should not be given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu because its harms outweigh any benefits, researchers have said.
They called on the Department of Health to have an urgent rethink of its current policy in the swine flu pandemic.
Their study found that Tamiflu caused vomiting in some children, which can lead to dehydration and complications.
And the drug had little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, ear infections or the likelihood of a youngster needing antibiotics.
Dr Carl Henegan, a GP and expert from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, said the current policy of giving Tamiflu for mild illness was an "inappropriate strategy".
He added: "The downside of the harms outweigh the one-day reduction in symptomatic benefits."
The study comes little over a week after other research found that children given Tamiflu preventatively reported side-effects including nausea and nightmares.
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