Swine flu: Kids under 12 'should not be given Tamiflu'

As swine flu spreads in India and aboard, British scientists have warned that children under the age of 12 should not be given the anti-viral drug Tamilflu because its harms outweigh any benefits.

A new study jointly by the University of Oxford and Radcliffe Hospital has found that the 'Tamiflu' medicine could cause vomiting in some children, which may lead to dehydration and further complications, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

Lead researcher Dr Carl Henegan of the hospital said the current policy of giving Tamiflu for mild illness was an "inappropriate strategy". "The downside of the harms outweigh the one-day reduction in symptomatic benefits."

The researchers analysed four experiments, involving children aged one to 12 on Tamiflu, to come to the conclusion. The study found the drug had little or no effect in helping with asthma flare-ups and the ear infections linked to flu.

Co-researcher Dr Matthew Thompson of University of Oxford said: "I don't think we have got any reason to think our results would be any different. The current swine flu is generally a mild flu illness, it does not seem that different from current seasonal flu."

However, a UK Department of Health spokesman dismissed the claims, saying, "the extent to which the findings can be applied to the current pandemic is questionable -- after all, we already know that swine flu behaves differently to seasonal flu, and past pandemics have hit younger people hardest."