Health watchdog downplays link between teenager's fall, Tamiflu

SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health watchdog said Sunday there is
little evidence that antiviral drug Tamiflu had caused a teenager to hallucinate
and jump from his family's apartment.
On Oct. 30, police found a 14-year-old student unconscious outside his apartment
building in Bucheon, west of Seoul, with fractured legs and arms. He told police
he had experienced hallucinations after taking Tamiflu and could not remember
what happened.
"We concluded that there is very little link between the teenager's fall and
Tamiflu, based on the findings of an epidemiological survey and professional
opinion," the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said in a statement.
The ministry, however, stressed that teenagers require very close observation at
least for two days after taking Tamiflu and advised doctors and pharmacists to
alert their parents.
Government authorities said Saturday they were unsure whether the boy fell from a
sixth-floor window of his home or whether he just fell down the stairs. He had
returned home earlier that day after visiting a hospital for a high fever.
The student claimed to have no memory of how he suffered the injuries, saying
that he had experienced hallucinations after being prescribed the Tamiflu at the
hospital, according to police.
An official at the Korea Food and Drug Administration said that if true, it would
be the first case in which hallucinations have been confirmed as a side effect of
the Tamiflu.
Local health authorities have so far only received reports of nausea and vomiting
as adverse side-effects of the drug.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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