Flu experts fear countries are unprepared for a future pandemic

The effectiveness of amantadine and rimantidine as a response to an imminent influenza pandemic is being doubted because of its high-level of cross-resistance. The neuraminidase inhibitors zanamivir or oseltamivir are proven to be more effective as treatment added by the fact that no resistance has yet been observed. However delegates of the Royal Society meeting were surprised that GlaxoSmithKline would no longer promote zanamivir actively. This worries them because of the difficulty it poses in the purchase of this drug in the advent of a pandemic. Moreover in the UK the drug is expensive and needs to be made available at a subsidized cost.