Warning regarding online swine flu medicines

Health watchdogs today warned people worried about swine flu not to buy medicine online over safety fears.

The Irish Medicines Board said there can be no guarantees of the quality of anti-viral drugs sold over the internet.

Interpol has further warned three quarters of spam emails floating around cyberspace are linked to drugs and treatments for the potentially deadly H1N1 influenza A.

Pat O’Mahony, IMB chief executive, said buying pills from the web could do more harm than good.

“There is a real danger to consumers if sub-standard anti-viral medications are taken as a preventative measure as it could actually build up a resistance to the genuine drug, which may not work later if required,” he said.

“The Government has stockpiled anti-viral medicines to treat the number of cases that might be expected during a flu pandemic and there is no benefit to people to seek to access these unauthorised medicines – in fact could potentially cause more harm.”

The IMB also said Interpol has warned hundreds of new internet pages are being set up linked to treatments, drugs and medicines for swine flu.

“We would strongly urge consumers not to purchase these medicines or indeed any medicines online,” Mr O’Mahony said.

“The real risk to people’s health is that consumers could be taking a medicine that could harm them given the dubious nature of their content and potential serious interaction with other medicines that they may be on.”

IMB officials have also been tasked to monitor and investigate the illegal supply of prescription only drugs over the internet and the illegal importation of recognised medicines, Tamiflu and Relenza.

Ireland was last night given the all-clear for swine flu after the only person to contract the virus made a full recovery.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said the period of infection has expired for the man, who was diagnosed after he returned from a holiday in Mexico.