(Durham, NC) -- Tamilflu remains one of the most effective antiviral drugs for treating the flu, including the H1N1 virus.
But there are a few cases reported in North Carolina that seem to be Tamiflu-resistant.      
  
Officials at Duke University Medical Center  say four patients have tested positive for a type of H1N1 that seems to be Tamlflu resistant.  This follows reports of five similar cases in the UK.

Doctors say it's too early to sound the alarm, but could be sign the disease has the potential to mutate.
 "The vast majority of people infected with influenza do not even receive viral treatment so this mutation is a moot point," notes Dr. Megan Davies, an epidemiologist in North Carolina.

The four cases in North Carolina all involve cancer patients in an isolated unit.

"All were hospitalized on the same unit at Duke University Medical Center. Three of those patients have died. Although its not clear whether their deaths were related to flu infections," says Davies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already sent disease specialists to North Carolina to investigate.

"Public health officials have got to say on top of these cases," urged Dr. Marc Siegel.  "I mean these cases on Wales, if they're sent home too early, or the cases at Duke, if they're sent home too early, you're going to end up with Tamiflu-resistance strains spreading and we're going to have a big problem."

In the U.S.,  the only other report of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu spreading from one person to another occurred over the summer at a North Carolina camp. Health officials say they're  not concerned that both reported clusters have come from the same state, indicating  it's probably just  a coincidence.





(Ainsley Earhardt - FOX News)