A look back at the 2009 to 2010 swine flu epidemic has revealed some interesting data regarding the use of the antiviral drug Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir. Researchers evaluated data from dozens of studies involving nearly 30,000 patients who had been hospitalized with H1N1 influenza. These were severely ill people.
Those who received Tamiflu during their hospitalization were 25 percent less likely to die compared to patients who did not get the antiviral medication. If influenza-infected patients got Tamiflu within two days of the onset of symptoms, their likelihood of dying was halved. The lead investigator suggests that the earlier Tamiflu is used during an influenza epidemic, the more effective it will be in reducing severe illness or death.
