Counterfeit Swine Flu Drugs Out-Spams Viagra on Internet
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Cyber criminals target panicked public over swine flu fears.
Ripples of worry about the increasing spread of swine flu have led to a spike in internet scammers flooding the web with offers to supply the drug cure Tamiflu.
Over 3,500 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the UK, and panic levels were raised last week when the media reported the virus outbreak was out of control: “Swine flu is so rampant in parts of the country that it cannot be contained,” wrote the Metro last Thursday.
The heightened perceived threat of danger from the swine flu virus has caused cyber criminals to spam email accounts with offers of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu. David Pruce, the director of policy for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) said: “We now think that Tamiflu is the most spammed medicine on the internet. It’s taken over from Viagra,” according to the BBC.
The warning from health professionals is that buying Tamiflu without a prescription over the internet is at best a waste of money, but at worst could be harmful to your health. “Most of that Tamiflu could well be fake. If it’s fake it could range from simple sugar to rat poison,” commented Mr Pruce.
The department of health’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson concurred with Mr Pruce: “My advice is don’t buy it, you don’t need to. We have got the biggest stockpile in the world and even worse than that you might end up with something that is poisonous and dangerous.”
The greater concern is that if too many people take genuine Tamiflu too early, the virus could mutate into a more virulent strain which is resistant to the drug. The NHS advised that summer colds were prevalent at this time of year and that people should not immediately jump to the conclusion that they have contracted swine flu if they simply had a cold.
