Word: zanamivir
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...antivirals work? If administered soon after symptoms appear, antivirals Oseltamivir and Zanamivir (brand names Tamiflu and Relenza) are believed to reduce the severity and shorten the duration of the disease by current strain of swine flu. The drugs work by inhibiting an enyzme chemical helper that the flu virus uses to spread from infected human cells to healthy ones. So while not killing the virus, it helps the body fight off the disease by slowing its spread. This, in turn, may help prevent "acute respiratory distress syndrome" - the sudden worsening of flu that, along with secondary lung infections...
That means that other medications, like zanamivir, a.k.a. Relenza, or prescribing oseltamivir in combination with other drugs is still an option. But the spread of a resistant strain raises the specter of a pandemic--brought on by a flu virus that is highly contagious and invulnerable to nearly all our medical efforts...
...resistant strain is also treatable with antiviral medications other than Tamiflu; zanamivir, or Relenza, still combats all three subtypes of influenza. And for those for whom zanamivir is inappropriate - the drug comes as an inhaled powder and is not recommended for children under age 7 - the combination of Tamiflu and an older antiviral, Flumadine (rimantadine), can be effective in fighting the disease. (In 2006 the CDC recommended against prescribing Flumadine because another of influenza's three subtypes was resistant to the drug. But in combination with Tamiflu, the medication can be effective.) (Read "A Brief History Of: The Flu Vaccine...
Another antimicrobial, zanamivir, or Relenza, is still effective against the circulating Tamiflu-resistant strain. However, that drug, which is an inhaled powder, is not recommended for children under 7, for whom a combination of Tamiflu and an older drug, rimantadine, can be used to control the infection. Since every flu infection is made up of three different types of influenza virus, both Relenza and rimantadine still work to disarm the two types that are not resistant to Tamiflu...
...FIGHTER You may no longer have to spend the usual week in bed if you catch the flu. When taken within 30 hours of getting sick, a drug called zanamivir can shorten the duration of Type A and Type B flu from seven to four days. Zanamivir still needs FDA approval...
| 1 |