AFTER a long wait, the Government will begin stockpiling about 125,000 doses of zanamivir (trade name: Relenza), alongside oseltamivir (Tamiflu), in preparation for the possibility of a flu pandemic.
Registered with the Malaysian Drug Control Authority in January this year, zanamivir is an anti-viral medication recommended as first-line treatment for people who are suspected, or confirmed, to be infected with the H5N1 avian flu virus that is currently circulating in more than 50 countries.