The diagnosis and treatment of influenza

Influenza viruses cause annual epidemics and occasional pandemics that have claimed the millions of lives. On December 4th 2009, more than 207 countries and overseas territories have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, which has claimed at least 8768 lives. Up to this date, the pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 has spread throughout the world with unprecedented speed. Accurate and rapid diagnosis of this influenza virus is critical for minimizing further spread, combined with timely implementation of antiviral treatment and public health based measures. Recently, the percentage of oseltamivir- resistant human seasonal H1N1 has increased to 98.5% in USA, and 99.8% in Korea. Fortunately, the pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 is sensitive to neuraminidase inhibitors, including oseltamivir. However, the percentage oseltamivir-resistant pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 is expected to increase with time. In this review, the various diagnostic method and the antiviral agents that have been reported in the literature will be discussed.