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Recommended Antiviral Agents for Seasonal Influenza for 2007-2008
NOTE: This information is taken from “Prevention and Control of Influenza Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2007” (MMWR 2007 Jul 13:5[RR06];1-54) and focuses on the two licensed influenza antiviral agents recommended for use in the United States during the 2007-08 influenza season: oseltamivir and zanamivir.
Although yearly vaccination with the flu vaccine is the primary strategy for preventing complications of influenza virus infections, antiviral medications with activity against influenza viruses can be effective for the prevention and treatment of influenza. Two licensed influenza antiviral agents are recommended for use in the United States during the 2007-08 influenza season: oseltamivir and zanamivir. These are chemically related antiviral medications known as neuraminidase inhibitors that have activity against both influenza A and B viruses.
- Oseltamivir is approved for treatment of persons aged 1 year and older and is licensed for use as chemoprophylaxis in persons aged 1 year and older.
- Zanamivir is approved for treatment of persons aged 7 years and older and is licensed for use as chemoprophylaxis in persons aged 5 years and older.
The two medications differ in pharmacokinetics, adverse events, routes of administration, dosages, and costs.
Note: There is a second class of influenza antiviral medications known as the adamantanes (amantadine and rimantadine) that are licensed in the U.S. for the treatment and prevention of influenza. However, because a high proportion of circulating influenza viruses in the U.S. in recent years have been resistant to the adamantanes, CDC recommends that neither amantadine nor rimantadine be used for the treatment or chemoprophylaxis of influenza in the United States during the 2007–08 influenza season. Surveillance demonstrating that susceptibility to these antiviral medications has been reestablished among circulating influenza A viruses will be needed before amantadine or rimantadine can be used for the treatment or chemoprophylaxis of influenza A. For that reason, the information contained on these web pages focuses on oseltamivir and zanamivir. For information on amantadine and rimantadine, see “Prevention and Control of Influenza Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2007.
- Page last updated September 26, 2007
- Content Source: Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases (CCID)
- National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
