Also on Friday, U.S. health experts reported they were investigating what appeared to be Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 among four patients at Duke University, USA Today reports. "Doctors say investigations of the hospital outbreaks are underway, but the preliminary genetic evidence suggests that the virus spread among patients at the hospitals," according to the newspaper. "If Tamiflu-resistant virus spreads widely, swine flu will become tougher to treat and may cost more lives, says Duke's Daniel Sexton, who is leading the hospital's investigation," the newspaper writes (Sternberg, 11/20).
Saudi Health Officials Announce First Deaths From H1N1 During Hajj
"Saudi health officials announced the first deaths from swine flu of this year's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, as four pilgrims succumbed to the disease soon after arriving in Saudi Arabia, the Associated Press reports (11/22). "An Indian man, a Moroccan woman and a Sudanese man -- all aged 75 -- died from A(H1N1), as had a 17-year-old girl from Nigeria, Saudi health ministry spokesman Khaled al-Marghlani said," Agence France-Presse reports. All patients are reported to have had preexisting conditions (11/21).
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