Bahrain probe into illegal sale of anti-swine flu drugs

Bahrain's Health Ministry is investigating reports that staff at some private hospitals and clinics have been illegally selling anti-swine flu drugs at up to eight times the normal price.

Patients are alleged to have been offered Tamiflu tablets under the counter for as much as BD150 ($398). A normal five day course costs BD18.73.

"We have received several reports this trade is going on," the ministry’s public relations director Adel Ali Abdulla told the Gulf Daily News.

"We are looking at whether some of the medical centres in Bahrain are involved and making our own inquiries.

"It is also possible some unscrupulous people are obtaining these capsules on their own in a clandestine manner and selling them to people," he said.

Abdulla told the local paper it was likely some medical centres were re-selling Tamiflu stocks the ministry had provided them.

"While there is no swine flu vaccine as yet, we would want to once again caution the people against buying Tamiflu capsules at such exorbitant prices," he said.

The Health Ministry has also issued an order directing pharmacies not to sell the drug without a prescription from an authorised medical practitioner.

Public health director Dr Khairya Moosa warned people against taking Tamiflu without adequate reason.

"Overuse can lead to the resistance being developed for the drug and then we are in for trouble," she said.

Meanwhile, Qatar has identified its third case of swine flu. A 17 year-old Iraqi teenager, who came to Qatar on Saturday on a flight from Washington, was given treatment and is recovering, the Qatar News Agency reported.

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