[Letters] Drastic steps needed against flu

Letters

Published: 27 Aug. 2009, 20:53

[Letters] Drastic steps needed against flu

Before the deaths of two people (a man in his 50s and a 63-year-old woman) in Korea, Influenza A (H1N1) wasn’t considered particularly severe or acute. However, after acknowledging how quickly the disease developed in the two patients’ bodies, Koreans began to think otherwise. In just five days, the patients died from respiratory distress syndrome. Even though the two people who died had been treated with Tamiflu, experts still administer the drug to those infected with A (H1N1) because improvements are showing in similar situations.

In response to these facts, I think we need to be ready for A (H1N1) influenza because of its dangers. Already more than 2,000 people in Korea are infected as of right now.

Since the amount of Tamiflu is limited, not all patients can be treated with the medicine unless they are severely ill. This is because a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland has the drug’s patent, which means only they have an official right to sell Tamiflu.

Since this is a matter of life and death, the Korean government should nullify the patent for the pharmaceutical company in Switzerland.

As a citizen of Korea, I feel that the Korean government is not doing enough immediately in this time of need.

Kim Jee-uhn, Buram High School