Optimizing antiviral treatment for seasonal influenza in the United States: A Mathematical Modeling Analysis

Yechezkel, M.; Ndeffo-Mba, M.; Yamin, D.

Seasonal influenza remains a major health burden in the United States. Despite recommendations of early antiviral treatment of high-risk patients, the effective treatment coverage remains very low. We developed an influenza transmission model that incorporates data on infectious viral load, social contact, and healthcare-seeking behavior, to evaluate the population-level impact of increasing antiviral treatment timeliness and coverage among high-risk patients in the US. We found that increasing the rate of early treatment among high-risk patients who received treatment more than 48 hours after symptoms onset, would substantially avert infections and influenza-induced hospitalizations. We found that treatment of the elderly has the highest impact on reducing hospitalizations, whereas treating high-risk individuals aged 5-19 years old has the highest impact on transmission. The population-level impact of increased timeliness and coverage of treatment among high-risk patients was observed regardless of seasonal influenza vaccination coverage and the severity of the influenza season.