Tamiflu safety comes into question after teenager's death

Tamiflu's common adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache and insomnia.

By Kang Seung-woo

A teenage girl's suspected suicide after taking Tamiflu is fueling anxieties about the anti-flu drug that has been suspected of causing abnormal behavior.

A 13-year-old middle school student surnamed Lee was found dead in the garden of her apartment building in Busan at around 6 a.m., Saturday. Police presume she jumped from the window of her home on the 12th floor, given that the window was open.

Her parents claim side effects of the antiviral drug may have led to her suicide.

According to them, their daughter was prescribed Tamiflu due to influenza type A. She took the drug twice on Friday and started behaving strangely that night, complaining of hallucinations. The following morning, she was found dead in the flower garden on the first floor.

“After waking up to drink water (the night before she died), she headed toward the balcony, not a table. We strongly believe the cause of death is a side effect of the drug,” Lee's mother said in a media interview.

In the wake of the teenager's death, police launched an investigation into whether the drug was linked to the accident.

It is not the first time in Korea that someone has committed suicide or self-harm after taking the drug.

In 2009, a 14-year-old student taking the medicine was seriously injured after jumping from the sixth floor of an apartment building in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. At the time, the student said he was experiencing auditory hallucinations.

In 2016, an 11-year-old elementary school student died after falling from the 21st floor of a building.

Internet users, mostly mothers, also shared odd behaviors observed in their children, showing concerns.

“My 10-year-old child, who took Tamiflu after being diagnosed with influenza, suddenly started saying weird things in his sleep and crying,” one mother said in an online community.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the number of reported cases of Tamiflu-linked side effects was 55 in 2012, but it rose sharply to 257 in 2016. Although the number decreased to 164 in 2017, it has been bouncing back this year, with 206 cases reported as of September.

The drug's common adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache and insomnia.

Several petitions have been launched on Cheong Wa Dae's website, calling on the government to handle the drug more strictly and to order the drugmaker to disclose the ingredients in detail.

As public concerns over the drug are deepening, the government issued a warning that Tamiflu may cause unusual behavior ― especially among children or teenagers.

“When prescribing Tamiflu, doctors and pharmacists must explain possible side effects and past falling accidents. They also need to tell the parents not to leave the young patients alone for at least two days after they've taken the drug,” the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Monday in a statement issued to medical experts and consumer organizations.

Anxieties over the side effects of the drug, made by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, have been also high in other countries, including Japan.

The Japanese government banned the prescription of the anti-flu drug to teenagers in 2007 ― although the ban was lifted this August.