news-record.com

RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina is one of 29 states that has not stockpiled enough flu treatments to meet the federal government's recommendations, but the state's health director says there's no reason for concern.

State officials have stockpiled about 660,000 courses of antiviral medicines. North Carolina's federal allotment is about 1 million and roughly one-quarter of that was distributed this week in preparation to combat the swine flu outbreak.

Combined, those 1.7 million total courses are enough to treat about 18 percent of the state's population. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that each state have enough antiviral medicine on hand to treat 25 percent of its population.

Dr. Jeffrey Engel, the state health director, said Thursday the state purchased the maximum amount of federally-subsidized antivirals in 2007. He said the state did not purchase any doses at market price and he saw no reason to rush out and fill the gap.

"I think the commercial supply will keep up at the present time," Engel said. Federal officials have said there is no shortage of the medicine in regular pharmacies.

An Associated Press survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that 29 were below the 25 percent threshold.

A course of antiviral medicine contains enough doses to treat one person. In 2006, as part of its own pandemic flu preparations, the federal government created a stockpile of 44 million courses, which would cover about 15 percent of the U.S. population.