MONDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- A fast method to detect fakeTamiflu, the mainstay medication for preventing and treating bird flu, hasbeen developed to stop counterfeiters trying to make money off the demandfor antivirals that fight the deadly disease.

Chemists in Georgia are scheduled to describe how DesorptionElectrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (DESI-MS) can determine theauthenticity of large batches of Tamiflu up to 20 times faster thanconventional methods during a presentation Monday at the American ChemicalSociety meeting in New Orleans.

"It's a one-step process that doesn't require any extensive samplepreparation," presenter Dr. Facundo M. Fernandez, of the Georgia Instituteof Technology in Atlanta, said in a prepared statement.

DESI-MS yields sample results in less than one minute. The "goldstandard" for analysis uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),a powerful method that can take up to an hour, he said.

"This method is really targeted at screening large amounts ofproducts" that might be expected during a pandemic of influenza, Fernandezadded. "In case of a crisis, you wouldn't be able to wait an hour persample. You'd want to screen hundreds of samples per day," he said.

When fears of a global epidemic of avian influenza first emerged in2005, worried consumers in the United States and other countries began tohorde Tamiflu, seeking prescriptions from physicians and purchasing themedication from online pharmacies.

In 2007, 86 confirmed human cases of bird flu occurred in the world,according to the World Health Organization, with 59 cases resulting indeath.

Tamiflu's demand and high cost -- $6.50 a pill -- have made it apreferred target for fakes, Fernandez noted, and counterfeits have alreadysurfaced in Chicago, San Francisco and other areas.

"The penalties for counterfeiting pharmaceuticals are much lower thanfor trafficking illegal drugs like cocaine," Fernandez said. "Many of theoperations focused on making illegal drugs are shifting to counterfeitingdrugs because of the low penalties and high profits."

Fernandez tested DESI-MS's effectiveness by collecting differentTamiflu samples from online pharmacies and found all of them to containthe active ingredient. However, he warned that customers who purchaseonline should use extra caution.

Although some online pharmacies are certified, Fernandez said peopleusually look for low prices instead. "What you get online can be prettymuch anything," he said. "It's very easy for the counterfeiter to bypassthe system that's in place to protect the consumer. And it's very easy forthe consumer to get medications."

More information

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more about avianflu.