A Step Forward in the Treatment of Influenza

For many years, antiviral treatment of influenza has consisted of monotherapy with a neuraminidase inhibitor. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir (oral administration) and zanamivir (oral inhalation) in 1999 and peramivir (intravenous administration) in late 2014. These drugs work by binding to the viral neuraminidase protein and interfering with the release of influenza virus particles from infected respiratory tract cells. Neuraminidase inhibitors are FDA-approved for the treatment of uncomplicated influenza within 2 days after onset in outpatients, on the basis of randomized, controlled trials, but they are also recommended for the treatment of patients with . . .