New Antiviral Agent Cuts Influenza Cases by Up to 82%

Daily doses of a new antiviral agent during the influenza season can significantly reduce the number of new cases of infection, researchers report in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.

A team headed by Dr. Frederick G. Hayden of the University of Virginia enrolled 1,559 healthy adults in the study, giving half the drug, oseltamivir, and half a placebo for six weeks during flu season. They found that those receiving the drug were 74% to 82% less likely to contract the flu. The principal side effect of the drug was nausea. The drug differs from a vaccine in that a vaccine produces antibodies to destroy the virus, while oseltamivir blocks the enzyme needed for replication.