A man shows a box of the medication Tamiflu that he was prescribed to take for swine flu AP

TAMIFLU causes more harm than good and should not be given to children, researchers have said.

The Department of Health must review its policy because the anti-viral drug - used in the front line against swine flu - causes side effects in some children, including vomiting which can lead to dehydration and complications.

Its only benefit is to speed up recovery from the mild flu by between 12 and 24 hours, say scientists from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, who analysed four studies involving children taking Tamiflu or another anti-viral, Relenza.

Dr Carl Henegan, who was one of the researchers, said: “The downside of the harms outweighs the one-day reduction in symptomatic benefits.”

He said the current policy of giving Tamiflu for mild illness was an "inappropriate strategy," adding: “I think the Government should be looking at this urgently, this week.”

Two recent studies found that more than half of children taking Tamiflu suffered side-effects, including nightmares. Gastrointestinal side-effects - nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and cramps - were reported by 40 per cent of the children.

"The downside of the harms outweighs the one-day reduction in symptomatic benefits"

About 300,000 Tamiflu prescriptions have been dispensed in Britain since swine flu emerged, but the new study, published in the British Medical Journal, should lead to a reduction, said Dr Matthew Thompson, another of the researchers.

He said children with mild symptoms should be treated in the same way as if they had any other mild flu - with rest and drinks to cool high temperatures.

This would also reduce the chances of the virus becoming resistant to drugs, he added, saying: “It's possible a more conservative strategy (such as) reserving these anti-viral drugs for people and children who are more likely to have complications of the illness might be a more sensible strategy.”

The study was critical of the Government for not demanding more data from drug companies. It also said that the studies examined were published before the latest pandemic strategy was produced.

The review was based on patients with seasonal flu and not swine flu, but scientists said that the findings apply to both illnesses.

However, this was dismissed by the Department of Health. A spokesman said: “The extent to which the findings can be applied to the current pandemic is questionable - after all, we already know that swine flu behaves differently to seasonal flu, and past pandemics have hit younger people hardest.

"We believe a safety-first approach of offering anti-virals to everyone remains a sensible and responsible way forward.”