Local health officials said they have not received any reports about psychological side effects from the flu drug Tamiflu.

Health authorities in Japan recently announced that a dozen children taking the drug have died, although the drug's maker points out that the children all suffered from various diseases and complications and it should not be blamed for the deaths.

Two of the Japanese deaths linked to the drug were suicides.

Japan said some children suffer from psychological side effects, including abnormal behavior and hallucinations, when they are on the drug.

Officials from the Shanghai Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Center said it received about 20 reports of side effects from Tamiflu in the last two or three years, but they all involved physical symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headaches and diarrhea.

"These reports are collected from hospitals and Roche's local branch. There have been no complaints about psychological discomfort," said Du Wenmin, vice director of the center. "No adverse reaction reports were received in recent days."

Many countries have been stocking up on the flu medication in case of a bird flu epidemic. More than 31.5 million people have used the drug worldwide.

Health officials said the drug shouldn't be taken without a prescription.

"Antiviral drugs are like antibiotics. Blind consumption only will result in side effects," Du added. "In fact, ordinary colds can be cured by people's own immunity systems."