A new 'flu treatment not yet available in Bermuda is purported to actually shorten the length of the disease.

Relenza is being used in Britain, Australia and New Zealand and is reportedly safe for children over 12 and the elderly.

But local pharmacies do not have the drug in stock because there has been no demand.

"I haven't seen any demonstrated demand either from patients or doctors,'' said Lynn Ann Bolton, pharmacist at White & Sons. "I had one person who had read about it in a magazine inquire and only one doctor asked out of curiosity if we had it.

"Certainly if there was a demand, I would order it. But I cannot bring it in and then call around to doctors and tell them that we have it in stock.

"That is not the way we operate.'' Mrs. Bolton's sentiments were echoed by all local pharmacies contacted and they emphasised that their ordering was dictated by the prescriptions that doctors write.

Administered by inhalation, the prescription medication has been approved by regulatory bodies worldwide. Pharmaceutical giants Glaxo Wellcome, who produce and market Relenza, report that it is being made available in the US Europe.

Relenza, which is the chemical compound zanamivir, works to block the normal enzyme produced by the body which breaks down the surface of cells enabling viruses to escape an infected cell and make their way to infect other healthy ones.

The blockage, by preventing the spread of the virus from cell to cell, shortens the life of the virus and thus the duration of the illness.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Brenda Davidson noted that for the drug to be effective it had to be taken at the beginning of the infection.

"This is often quite difficult as many people do not realise they have the 'flu until a few days into it,'' she said.

And Mrs. Bolton noted a further problem with Relenta is that it can only be obtained by prescription.

"There is probably only a very limited place for it anyway as most people try to get rid of the flu on their own at first,'' she said. "It wouldn't be until someone was feeling quite bad and well into the 'flu that they would decide to go to their doctor, and by then it would be too late to use it.

"And doctors are not in the habit of prescribing medication for healthy people to use when they begin to feel a flu coming on.'' John Turner, from wholesalers Bermuda General Agency (BGA), estimated that a full regimen of the drug including the inhaler, with five diskettes and four blisters of medicine would cost in the region of $50.

While costing significantly more than most over-the-counter 'flu medicines, it is worth noting that Relenza is actually combating the disease while over the counter medicines are just relieving symptoms.

Insurance companies could not say if they would cover the cost of the medication and at least one pharmacist said she felt "shortening the illness from 14 to ten days isn't really worth much''.