Report: Tamiflu May Not Be Much Help

ATLANTA -- The medical arsenal against the flu just got weaker. Government health officials said Friday that a leading flu medicine, Tamiflu, might not work against all cases of the flu this year. The most common flu bug right now is overwhelmingly resistant to Tamiflu, they said. The alert is "an early heads-up" for doctors. If current trends continue, they may need to change how they treat patients this flu season, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials say they aren't too worried, for several reasons. First, it's early in the flu season, and it's not clear this strain will dominate through the next several months. Second, not many people take antiviral medications for the flu.

Third, the flu vaccine -- the primary weapon against flu -- seems well matched against the circulating bugs.

But doctors need to take it seriously, said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious diseases expert.

"Each influenza seasons provides a bit of a surprise and we got our (surprise) a little early this year," he added.