Government Releases Swine Flu Treatment Stockpiles (RHHBY, GSK)

You have probably heard more and more about the swine flu epidemic from Mexico spreading to the U.S., and a new media advisory is confirming that the drugs Tamiflu by Roche (OTC: RHHBY) and Relenza by GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) are being released to combat the swine flu.  While there was no mention of how many doses of each drug were in the total stockpile of 50 million doses, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a White House briefing that the government is releasing 25% of the 50 million stockpiled doses to treat the outbreak.

This data may already be old, but the cases are listed as follows: California has 7 cases, Kansas has 2 cases, New York City has 8 cases, Ohio has 1 reported case, and Texas has 2 cases.  These numbers are from earlier and obviously if this is any epidemic or is much more widespread then those numbers will grow.  This is on the heels of some 1,300 suspected cases in Mexico and even New Zealand has said it is “likely” that 10 students who were recently in Mexico have swine flu.

The CDC noted many ways to combat this, such as washing hands frequently, avoiding contact with sick people and the agency asks that you do not board an airplane if you are sick.

JON C. OGG