Highlights
Antiviral Drugs for Influenza
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has recommended that neither amantadine nor rimantadine should be used to treat influenza (flu) during the 2005- 2006 flu season. A high proportion of influenza A strains have become resistant to these drugs.
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Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) may be used to prevent or treat complications of the flu. These should not be used for routine treatment of seasonal flu, however. According to an article published in January 2006 in the Lancet, these should be used only during a serious epidemic or pandemic, and in conjunction with public health measures such as quarantine and rigorous hygiene practices.
Each of the influenza drugs can prevent or reduce symptoms of the flu caused by drug-sensitive strains of the virus. Although amantadine and rimantadine have been very helpful in previous years, drug resistant strains have increased sharply this year. Tamiflu and Relenza remain active against current human influenza virus.
Relenza and Tamiflu reduce “viral shedding,” or transmission of the flu virus from the nose, although they do not stop viral shedding completely. Amantadine and rimantadine do not reduce viral shedding. Moreover, they encourage flu strains to develop resistance.
New Test for Avian Flu
In February 2006, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved a new, faster test for diagnosing strains of avian influenza (bird flu) in people suspected of having the virus. The test is called the Influenza A/H5 (Asian lineage) Virus Real-time RT-PCR Primer and Probe Set. The test gives preliminary results within 4 hours. Older tests required 2 to 3 days. At the time of this publication, at least 165 people have been infected with the avian (H5N1) flu in 6 countries. More than half have died. No cases have been seen in the United States. The avian flu virus has spread from birds to people.
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