Meeting Report: Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions

Andrew C. Singer; Bruce M. Howard; Andrew C. Johnson; Chris J. Knowles; Simon Jackman; Cesare Accinelli; Anna Barra Caracciolo; Ian Bernard; Stephen Bird; Tatiana Boucard; Alistair Boxall; Jayne V. Brian; Elise Cartmell; Chris Chubb; John Churchley; Sandra Costigan; Mark Crane; Michael J. Dempsey; Bob Dorrington; Brian Ellor; Jerker Fick; John Holmes; Tom Hutchinson; Franz Karcher; Samuel L. Kelleher; Peter Marsden; Gerald Noone; Miles A. Nunn; John Oxford; Tony Rachwal; Noel Roberts; Mike Roberts; Maria Ludovica Sacca; Matthew Sanders; Jueg Oliver Straub; Adrian Terry; Dean Thomas; Stephen Toovey; Rodney Townsend; Nikolaos Vouivoulis; Chris Watts

doi:10.1289/ehp.11310

Meeting Report: Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions

Andrew C. Singer, Bruce M. Howard, Andrew C. Johnson, Chris J. Knowles, Simon Jackman, Cesare Accinelli, Anna Barra Caracciolo, Ian Bernard, Stephen Bird, Tatiana Boucard, Alistair Boxall, Jayne V. Brian, Elise Cartmell, Chris Chubb, John Churchley, Sandra Costigan, Mark Crane, Michael J. Dempsey, Bob Dorrington, Brian EllorJerker Fick, John Holmes, Tom Hutchinson, Franz Karcher, Samuel L. Kelleher, Peter Marsden, Gerald Noone, Miles A. Nunn, John Oxford, Tony Rachwal, Noel Roberts, Mike Roberts, Maria Ludovica Sacca, Matthew Sanders, Jueg Oliver Straub, Adrian Terry, Dean Thomas, Stephen Toovey, Rodney Townsend, Nikolaos Vouivoulis, Chris Watts

Environment and Geography

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

On 3 October 2007, 40 participants with diverse expertise attended the workshop Tamiflu and the Environment: Implications of Use under Pandemic Conditions to assess the potential human health impact and environmental hazards associated with use of Tamiflu during an influenza pandemic. Based on the identification and risk-ranking of knowledge gaps, the consensus was that oseltamivir ethylester-phosphate (OE-P) and oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) were unlikely to pose an ecotoxicologic hazard to freshwater organisms. OC in river water might hasten the generation of OC-resistance in wildfowl, but this possibility seems less likely than the potential disruption that could be posed by OC and other pharmaceuticals to the operation of sewage treatment plants. The work-group members agreed on the following research priorities: a) available data on the ecotoxicology of OE-P and OC should be published; b) risk should be assessed for OC-contaminated river water generating OC-resistant viruses in wildfowl; c) sewage treatment plant functioning due to microbial inhibition by neuraminidase inhibitors and other antimicrobials used during a pandemic should be investigated: and e realistic worst-case exposure scenarios should be developed. Additional modeling would be useful to identify localized areas within river catchments that might be prone to high pharmaceutical concentrations in sewage treatment plant effluent. Ongoing seasonal use of Tamiflu in Japan offers opportunities for researchers to assess how much OC enters and persists in the aquatic environment.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1563-1567
Number of pages	5
Journal	Environmental health perspectives
Volume	116
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.11310
Publication status	Published - Nov 2008

Keywords

antiviral
drug
ecotoxicology
influenza
pandemic
pharmaceutical
pollution
sewage treatment plant
Tamiflu
NEURAMINIDASE INHIBITORS
INFLUENZA-VIRUSES
OSELTAMIVIR TREATMENT
RESISTANCE
SUSCEPTIBILITY

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Singer, A. C., Howard, B. M., Johnson, A. C., Knowles, C. J., Jackman, S., Accinelli, C., Caracciolo, A. B., Bernard, I., Bird, S., Boucard, T., Boxall, A., Brian, J. V., Cartmell, E., Chubb, C., Churchley, J., Costigan, S., Crane, M., Dempsey, M. J., Dorrington, B., ... Watts, C. (2008). Meeting Report: Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions. Environmental health perspectives, 116(11), 1563-1567. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.11310

@article{741d2bd30ad14f8c84b8ded5aa20760d,

title = "Meeting Report: Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions",

abstract = "On 3 October 2007, 40 participants with diverse expertise attended the workshop Tamiflu and the Environment: Implications of Use under Pandemic Conditions to assess the potential human health impact and environmental hazards associated with use of Tamiflu during an influenza pandemic. Based on the identification and risk-ranking of knowledge gaps, the consensus was that oseltamivir ethylester-phosphate (OE-P) and oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) were unlikely to pose an ecotoxicologic hazard to freshwater organisms. OC in river water might hasten the generation of OC-resistance in wildfowl, but this possibility seems less likely than the potential disruption that could be posed by OC and other pharmaceuticals to the operation of sewage treatment plants. The work-group members agreed on the following research priorities: a) available data on the ecotoxicology of OE-P and OC should be published; b) risk should be assessed for OC-contaminated river water generating OC-resistant viruses in wildfowl; c) sewage treatment plant functioning due to microbial inhibition by neuraminidase inhibitors and other antimicrobials used during a pandemic should be investigated: and e realistic worst-case exposure scenarios should be developed. Additional modeling would be useful to identify localized areas within river catchments that might be prone to high pharmaceutical concentrations in sewage treatment plant effluent. Ongoing seasonal use of Tamiflu in Japan offers opportunities for researchers to assess how much OC enters and persists in the aquatic environment.",

keywords = "antiviral, drug, ecotoxicology, influenza, pandemic, pharmaceutical, pollution, sewage treatment plant, Tamiflu, NEURAMINIDASE INHIBITORS, INFLUENZA-VIRUSES, OSELTAMIVIR TREATMENT, RESISTANCE, SUSCEPTIBILITY",

author = "Singer, {Andrew C.} and Howard, {Bruce M.} and Johnson, {Andrew C.} and Knowles, {Chris J.} and Simon Jackman and Cesare Accinelli and Caracciolo, {Anna Barra} and Ian Bernard and Stephen Bird and Tatiana Boucard and Alistair Boxall and Brian, {Jayne V.} and Elise Cartmell and Chris Chubb and John Churchley and Sandra Costigan and Mark Crane and Dempsey, {Michael J.} and Bob Dorrington and Brian Ellor and Jerker Fick and John Holmes and Tom Hutchinson and Franz Karcher and Kelleher, {Samuel L.} and Peter Marsden and Gerald Noone and Nunn, {Miles A.} and John Oxford and Tony Rachwal and Noel Roberts and Mike Roberts and Sacca, {Maria Ludovica} and Matthew Sanders and Straub, {Jueg Oliver} and Adrian Terry and Dean Thomas and Stephen Toovey and Rodney Townsend and Nikolaos Vouivoulis and Chris Watts",

year = "2008",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1289/ehp.11310",

language = "English",

volume = "116",

pages = "1563--1567",

journal = "Environmental health perspectives",

issn = "0091-6765",

publisher = "Public Health Services, US Dept of Health and Human Services",

number = "11",

}

Singer, AC, Howard, BM, Johnson, AC, Knowles, CJ, Jackman, S, Accinelli, C, Caracciolo, AB, Bernard, I, Bird, S, Boucard, T, Boxall, A, Brian, JV, Cartmell, E, Chubb, C, Churchley, J, Costigan, S, Crane, M, Dempsey, MJ, Dorrington, B, Ellor, B, Fick, J, Holmes, J, Hutchinson, T, Karcher, F, Kelleher, SL, Marsden, P, Noone, G, Nunn, MA, Oxford, J, Rachwal, T, Roberts, N, Roberts, M, Sacca, ML, Sanders, M, Straub, JO, Terry, A, Thomas, D, Toovey, S, Townsend, R, Vouivoulis, N & Watts, C 2008, 'Meeting Report: Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions', Environmental health perspectives, vol. 116, no. 11, pp. 1563-1567. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.11310

TY - JOUR

T1 - Meeting Report: Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions

AU - Singer, Andrew C.

AU - Howard, Bruce M.

AU - Johnson, Andrew C.

AU - Knowles, Chris J.

AU - Jackman, Simon

AU - Accinelli, Cesare

AU - Caracciolo, Anna Barra

AU - Bernard, Ian

AU - Bird, Stephen

AU - Boucard, Tatiana

AU - Boxall, Alistair

AU - Brian, Jayne V.

AU - Cartmell, Elise

AU - Chubb, Chris

AU - Churchley, John

AU - Costigan, Sandra

AU - Crane, Mark

AU - Dempsey, Michael J.

AU - Dorrington, Bob

AU - Ellor, Brian

AU - Fick, Jerker

AU - Holmes, John

AU - Hutchinson, Tom

AU - Karcher, Franz

AU - Kelleher, Samuel L.

AU - Marsden, Peter

AU - Noone, Gerald

AU - Nunn, Miles A.

AU - Oxford, John

AU - Rachwal, Tony

AU - Roberts, Noel

AU - Roberts, Mike

AU - Sacca, Maria Ludovica

AU - Sanders, Matthew

AU - Straub, Jueg Oliver

AU - Terry, Adrian

AU - Thomas, Dean

AU - Toovey, Stephen

AU - Townsend, Rodney

AU - Vouivoulis, Nikolaos

AU - Watts, Chris

PY - 2008/11

Y1 - 2008/11

N2 - On 3 October 2007, 40 participants with diverse expertise attended the workshop Tamiflu and the Environment: Implications of Use under Pandemic Conditions to assess the potential human health impact and environmental hazards associated with use of Tamiflu during an influenza pandemic. Based on the identification and risk-ranking of knowledge gaps, the consensus was that oseltamivir ethylester-phosphate (OE-P) and oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) were unlikely to pose an ecotoxicologic hazard to freshwater organisms. OC in river water might hasten the generation of OC-resistance in wildfowl, but this possibility seems less likely than the potential disruption that could be posed by OC and other pharmaceuticals to the operation of sewage treatment plants. The work-group members agreed on the following research priorities: a) available data on the ecotoxicology of OE-P and OC should be published; b) risk should be assessed for OC-contaminated river water generating OC-resistant viruses in wildfowl; c) sewage treatment plant functioning due to microbial inhibition by neuraminidase inhibitors and other antimicrobials used during a pandemic should be investigated: and e realistic worst-case exposure scenarios should be developed. Additional modeling would be useful to identify localized areas within river catchments that might be prone to high pharmaceutical concentrations in sewage treatment plant effluent. Ongoing seasonal use of Tamiflu in Japan offers opportunities for researchers to assess how much OC enters and persists in the aquatic environment.

AB - On 3 October 2007, 40 participants with diverse expertise attended the workshop Tamiflu and the Environment: Implications of Use under Pandemic Conditions to assess the potential human health impact and environmental hazards associated with use of Tamiflu during an influenza pandemic. Based on the identification and risk-ranking of knowledge gaps, the consensus was that oseltamivir ethylester-phosphate (OE-P) and oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) were unlikely to pose an ecotoxicologic hazard to freshwater organisms. OC in river water might hasten the generation of OC-resistance in wildfowl, but this possibility seems less likely than the potential disruption that could be posed by OC and other pharmaceuticals to the operation of sewage treatment plants. The work-group members agreed on the following research priorities: a) available data on the ecotoxicology of OE-P and OC should be published; b) risk should be assessed for OC-contaminated river water generating OC-resistant viruses in wildfowl; c) sewage treatment plant functioning due to microbial inhibition by neuraminidase inhibitors and other antimicrobials used during a pandemic should be investigated: and e realistic worst-case exposure scenarios should be developed. Additional modeling would be useful to identify localized areas within river catchments that might be prone to high pharmaceutical concentrations in sewage treatment plant effluent. Ongoing seasonal use of Tamiflu in Japan offers opportunities for researchers to assess how much OC enters and persists in the aquatic environment.

KW - antiviral

KW - drug

KW - ecotoxicology

KW - influenza

KW - pandemic

KW - pharmaceutical

KW - pollution

KW - sewage treatment plant

KW - Tamiflu

KW - NEURAMINIDASE INHIBITORS

KW - INFLUENZA-VIRUSES

KW - OSELTAMIVIR TREATMENT

KW - RESISTANCE

KW - SUSCEPTIBILITY

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=58849121407&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1289/ehp.11310

DO - 10.1289/ehp.11310

M3 - Article

SN - 0091-6765

VL - 116

SP - 1563

EP - 1567

JO - Environmental health perspectives

JF - Environmental health perspectives

IS - 11

ER -

Meeting Report: Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions

Abstract

Keywords

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