Abstract
It is estimated that a billion cases of influenza occur each year globally and that three to five million are serious infections with annual mortality of 290,000 to 650,000. Severe influenza infections or patients at risk for severe disease should be treated immediately with an antiviral agent effective against influenza A and B, before confirmation of the diagnosis. Treatment can save lives and sooner (<24 h after onset) is more effective. The adamantanes (amantadine and rimantadine) were the first antivirals approved for influenza treatment, but widespread resistance of influenza A (>99%) has made them obsolete and no longer recommended. The neuraminidase inhibitors (oral oseltamivir and inhaled zanamivir) were approved in 1999, followed by the parenteral peramivir in 2014. Prior to 2018, the neuraminidase inhibitors were the only approved antiviral drugs for influenza. In 2018, a new oral antiviral, baloxavir, was approved in the United States for influenza infection. This chapter reviews the chemistry, antiviral activity, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and side effects of baloxavir.
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Fong, I.W. (2023). New Antiviral Agent for Influenza: Baloxavir. In: New Antimicrobials: For the Present and the Future. Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26078-0_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26078-0_14
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