How Will Physicians Respond to the Next Influenza Pandemic?
Clin Infect Dis. 2013 Oct 21;
Authors: Fedson DS
Abstract
The emergence of the H7N9 virus in China is another reminder of the threat of a global influenza pandemic. Many believe we could confront a pandemic by expanding our capacity to provide timely supplies of affordable pandemic vaccines and antiviral agents. Experience in 2009 demonstrated this can't and won't be done. Consequently, physicians may have little more to offer their patients than they had in the 1918 pandemic. Fortunately, several modern drugs (e.g., statins, ACE inhibitors, ARBs) can modify the host response to inflammatory illness, and laboratory and clinical studies suggest they might be used to treat pandemic patients. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to the research needed to support their use in patient care. There is no guarantee these drugs will work, but physicians will never know unless those responsible for pandemic preparedness recognize and act on the extraordinary possibility that they might save lives.
PMID: 24145877 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]