Researchers warn: 'Antivirals might be wasted on the elderly'
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - 03:15
in Health & Medicine
A model of influenza transmission and treatment suggests that, if the current swine flu pandemic behaves like the 1918 flu, antiviral treatment should be reserved for the young. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases found that, in this situation, providing the elderly with antiviral drugs would not significantly reduce mortality, and may lead to an increase in resistance...