Tamiflu should not be prescribed for teenagers as a rule

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Symptoms of influenza may include a fever of over 38 degrees, headache, muscle and joint pain, and in serious cases may also include pneumonia and fever seizures. Very rare cases may develop into influenza-associated encephalopathy which can be fatal.

Regardless of whether they are taking Tamiflu or not, infants, children and teenagers especially, as well as older people, should not be left alone. The primary care physician should be notified immediately of any changes in condition.

There are reports of people dying resulting from abnormal behavior after taking the anti-idiotypic influenza drug Tamiflu. It is unclear whether a link exists between Tamiflu and these incidences of abnormal behavior, but the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare advised all medical personnel on February 28th that all patients being treated at home for influenza and their families should receive thorough explanations of the situation. This announcement was repeated nationally after the March 20th incident where a teenager taking Tamiflu fell from the second story and suffered broken bones.

Taking this into consideration about the use of Tamiflu, the night of the same day (March 20th), the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare ordered Chugai Pharmaceutical, the company that makes and sells Tamiflu, to publish an Emergency Safety Report including the points listed below.

In Saga Prefecture as well, as part of the plan to prevent accidents cause by said abnormal behavior, on February 28th the Prefecture Medical Association and the Pharmacist’s Association were asked to thoroughly explain to patients and their families how to use the drug correctly and to be sure the families watch over the patient while they take the drug. The explanation should be given every time the drug is prescribed and subsequently explained. This request was repeated on March 21st.

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Emergency Safety Report
Whether Tamiflu is a cause or not with children above 10 years of age is unclear, but there have been reports of cases where patients behaved abnormally or had accidents involving falling after taking the drug.

Because of this, all patients in this age group, not just limited to those who because of complications or past medical records are judged to be high-risk cases, should not be given the drug.

Additionally, in order to prevent the possibility of an accident, in cases where young children and teenagers have been prescribed this medication, both patients and their families should be informed that:
（1）There is a risk of displaying abnormal behavior
（2）If the patient is being cared for at home, he or she should not be left unwatched for a minimum of at least two days during treatment.

Continuing, the symptoms for influenza-associated encephalopathy may appear in the same way as the above, and so the same explanation should be given.

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