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Public urged not to buy Tamiflu online Article date: 2009-07-03 15:37:40

Britons have been urged not to buy the anti-flu drug Tamiflu online as the NHS has access to a "massive stockpile" of the drug.

Experts are also concerned that the flu drugs being advertised online and in spam emails may be counterfeit, as is the case with many such drugs.

Sir Liam Donaldson, the government's chief medical officer, said that people should not turn to the internet to self-medicate.

"There's generally a growth in people ordering drugs from the internet worldwide and there's a lot of concern amongst health authorities that people might buy counterfeit drugs," he revealed.

"I think this is a similar situation - people shouldn't buy Tamiflu from the internet."

The expert added: "We have got a massive stockpile in this country and everybody can have access to it through the National Health Service."

His comments came as the country moved into the 'treatment phase' of the flu pandemic.

This means that GPs will now diagnose cases on the basis of people's symptoms rather than laboratory testing.

Antiviral drugs will no longer be given to close contacts of affected people as this intervention is no longer deemed to be appropriate given the scale of the disease's spread.

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