Multiple doses of antiviral may improve treatment of severe human H5N1 infection

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza of a specific clade, 2.3.4.4b, has been circulating in wild birds and domesticated poultry and dairy cows since 2021. While there have been just a few human infections, scientists want to understand how current antivirals could best be used to combat the virus if needed. A study from the lab of Richard Webby, PhD, Department of Host-Microbe Interactions, led by lab members Elena Govorkova, PhD, and Jeremy Jones, PhD, tested the newest Food and Drug Administration–approved influenza treatment, baloxavir, to see how it performed against the 2.3.4.4b H5N1. They found that multiple doses of the antiviral highly protected research models from infections, including a complete prevention of viral spread to the brain. The results, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggest humans infected with this type of H5N1 flu virus may benefit from a multidose regimen of baloxavir instead of the typical single dose.

“Current guidelines for antiviral treatment are based on typical seasonal influenza infections,” Webby said. “Our findings indicate that a more intensive therapeutic approach may be warranted for patients with severe H5N1 influenza.”

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