BILTHOVEN, 7 Aug. — From now on, the Mexican flu will be treated by the authorities as an ordinary flu. Patients will no longer receive the antiviral drug Tamiflu as standard treatment. These policies were announced this morning by the [Dutch] National Institute for Public Health and the Environment [R.I.V.M.].

Cases of Mexican flu no longer need to be officially confirmed or reported.

All Dutch residents will shortly receive a folder mailed to their homes with information about the flu, the standard treatment, and the diagnostic procedures. “We expect to send out the folder in the week of 17th August”, according to a spokesman from the Ministry of Health.

The decision to stop the standard treatment of flu patients with Tamiflu was due to its side effects, accoe lotrding to Professor Jaap van Dissel of the Leiden University Medical Centre. Giving Tamiflu to 200 otherwise healthy flu patients will only protect 1 patient from complications, but meanwhile 20 to 30 people will experience serious side effects.

From the details so far available, the Mexican flu seems relatively mild, and the symptoms are very much like ordinary flu. 1% to 3% of patients experience complications – usually pneumonia. In approximately two thirds of these cases the patients belong to traditional risk groups. They already come under consideration for the annual winter flu shot. The World Health Organization announced yesterday that the first vaccines against the Mexican flu would be available in September.

According to Van Dissel, the risk groups also come under consideration for Tamiflu. This includes people with very serious flu cases. “For this kind of case Tamiflu treatment is useful, especially in the early stages after infection.” People between the ages of 15 to 50 have a higher risk of infection with Mexican flu. Also pregnant women in their third trimester have a greater risk.

All Dutch hospitals will meanwhile prepare for an eventual flu pandemic, said the Dutch Society of Hospitals [N.V.V.Z.].