Seasonal and pandemic influenza preparedness: science and countermeasures

Influenza has not been treated with the degree of medical attention that the disease warrants. As such, there is not an adequate baseline of preparedness in the United States to deal with the potential of pandemic influenza. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been working to enact measures to deal more effectively with a potential influenza pandemic and also to assist in the management of seasonal influenza. The majority of the NIAID's efforts have been dedicated to basic research aimed ultimately at developing and testing, in clinical trials, countermeasures in the form of antiviral drugs and vaccines. Some of the NIAID's current and planned antiviral projects include the (1) assessment of oseltamivir therapy in infants, (2) conduct of clinical trials of higher doses of osteltamivir for avian influenza, (3) appraisal of combination therapies, and (4) evaluation of the next generation of neuraminidase inhibitors. In addition, the NIAID is screening potential new antiviral drugs and evaluating novel drug targets. Similarly, significant funding has been committed to vaccine preparedness, and numerous novel candidate influenza vaccines are in various stages of development. Importantly, there is an integral relationship between preparation for seasonal influenza and preparation for pandemic influenza. Until these approaches are firmly linked, the community will not have optimized its preparedness for a pandemic.