Dr.M.A.Aleem

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Antiviral Agents For Influenza .Aleem.M.A., Hakkim.A.M. BMJ 2017;358:j3266

BMJ

Editorials

WHO downgrades status of oseltamivir

BMJ 2017; 358 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j3266 (Published 12 July 2017)

Cite this as: BMJ 2017;358:j3266

Rapid response

Re: WHO downgrades status of oseltamivir

Antiviral Agents For Influenza

At present vaccinations are the only preventive measures useful to prevent influenza . Influenza antiviral agents are an important adjunct to vaccinations.

The recommendations for using influenza antiviral medications are based on data from the randomized clinical trials as well as from observational studies of patients receiving treatment in practice. Early antiviral treatment in people with influenza can lessen the illness severity, shorten time of illness, and reduce the serious Influenza related complications such as pneumonia in outpatients and death in hospitalized patients.

There are three antiviral agents recommended for the treatment of influenza, they are oral oseltamivir, inhaled zanamivir, and intravenous peramivir. These neuraminidase inhibitors are chemically related and have activity against both influenza A and B viruses. Generic oseltamivir was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2016 .

To treat influenza, oral oseltamivir and inhaled zanamivir are usually prescribed for 5 days, although hospitalized patients may receive treatment for longer. Intravenous peramivir is administered in a single infusion over 15-30 minutes. Peramivir is approved for treatment in adults, zanamivir for treatment of children 7 years or older, and oseltamivir for treatment even in infants.

Resistance to the circulating influenza viruses to any of the neuraminidase inhibitor antiviral agent is low at present.

Still more randomised control studies are required to confirm the effectiveness of antivirals in influenza viral infections

Competing interests: No competing interests

14 July 2017

M.A. Aleem

Neurologist

A.M.Hakkim

ABC Hospital

Annamalainagar Trichy 620018 Tamilnadu India

@drmaaleem

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Thuvarankurichy Mosque Centenary Function

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Tamil Nadu becomes second Indian state to report Zika infection

Hindustantimes

Tamil Nadu becomes second Indian state to report Zika infection
Updated: Jul 11, 2017 11:22 IST
By Sadaguru Pandit

Mosquito-borne Zika Virus Disease continues to remain a global public health concern . (Shutterstock)
Tamil Nadu became the second state of the country to report the Zika infection on Monday. India’s fourth Zika case and the first one from Tamil Nadu is a 27-year-old tailor with no history of travel to the affected regions, officials confirmed.

Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions. This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

“The transmission has not taken place from any Zika-affected country. We suspect that the man is locally infected,” said J Radhakrishnan Tamil Nadu’s health secretary. While the man has recovered completely as per health officials, the local spread of the virus is a major concern.

Health officials however said that there is no need to worry since not a single individual from the man’s family or locality have tested positive for the deadly virus. The infection was detected during a routine visit.

On May 15, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus disease in Bapunagar area in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, for the first time. The victims, including a pregnant woman were detected in February last year, the second in November and the latest one this January. However, the government only released the information this May, attracting criticism.

WHO termed the findings “low-level transmission” but warned that new cases of the disease linked to babies born with underdeveloped brains could occur in the future.

Only last year, the union government had put planned a mammoth exercise to measure the head circumference of every child born in the country to find out if there is any sudden rise of microcephaly cases — a birth defect that causes abnormally small heads in newborns which is a symptom of the Zika infection.

Key facts about Zika

Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.

People with Zika can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache.

The symptoms normally last for 2-7 days.

There is scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.