Antiviral Agents for the Treatment and Chemoprophylaxis of Influenza

Antiviral Agents for the Treatment and Chemoprophylaxis of Influenza
Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)

This report updates previous recommendations by CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of antiviral agents for the prevention and treatment of influenza. This report contains information on treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza virus infection and provides a summary of the effectiveness and safety of antiviral treatment medications. Additional information is available from CDC’s influenza website at http://www.cdc.gov/flu. Recommendations related to the use of vaccines for the prevention of influenza during the 2010–11 influenza season infections have been published previously.
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Antiviral Agents for the Treatment and Chemoprophylaxis of Influenza



Antiviral Agents for the Treatment and Chemoprophylaxis of Influenza
Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)

Recommendations and Reports
January 21, 2011 / 60(RR01);1-24

Prepared by

Anthony E. Fiore, MD
Alicia Fry, MD
David Shay, MD
Larisa Gubareva, PhD
Joseph S. Bresee, MD
Timothy M. Uyeki, MD

Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

The material in this report originated in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Anne Schuchat, MD, Director, and the Influenza Division, Nancy Cox, PhD, Director.

Corresponding preparer: Timothy Uyeki, MD, Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road, N.E., MS A-20, Atlanta, GA 30333. Telephone: 404-639-3747; Fax: 404-639-3866; E-mail: tuyeki@cdc.gov.

Summary

This report updates previous recommendations by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of antiviral agents for the prevention and treatment of influenza (CDC. Prevention and control of influenza: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP]. MMWR 2008;57[No. RR-7]).This report contains information on treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza virus infection and provides a summary of the effectiveness and safety of antiviral treatment medications. Highlights include recommendations for use of 1) early antiviral treatment of suspected or confirmed influenza among persons with severe influenza (e.g., those who have severe, complicated, or progressive illness or who require hospitalization); 2) early antiviral treatment of suspected or confirmed influenza among persons at higher risk for influenza complications; and 3) either oseltamivir or zanamivir for persons with influenza caused by 2009 H1N1 virus, influenza A (H3N2) virus, or influenza B virus or when the influenza virus type or influenza A virus subtype is unknown; 4) antiviral medications among children aged <1 year; 5) local influenza testing and influenza surveillance data, when available, to help guide treatment decisions; and 6) consideration of antiviral treatment for outpatients with confirmed or suspected influenza who do not have known risk factors for severe illness, if treatment can be initiated within 48 hours of illness onset. Additional information is available from CDC's influenza website at http://www.cdc.gov/flu, including any updates or supplements to these recommendations that might be required during the 2010--11 influenza season. Health-care providers should be alert to announcements of recommendation updates and should check the CDC influenza website periodically for additional information. Recommendations related to the use of vaccines for the prevention of influenza during the 2010--11 influenza season have been published previously (CDC. Prevention and control of influenza with vaccines: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP], 2010. MMWR 2010;59[No. RR-8]). full-text (large size): Antiviral Agents for the Treatment and Chemoprophylaxis of Influenza